Tidal power model to be tested off city this fall

A one-third scale model of a tidal turbine generator will be placed in the waters off Clark's Ledge, Eastport, in mid-November for a month of feasibility testing. The installation of the test unit is the first of two steps before a commercial project can be built.

"This will draw a lot of interest around the world," predicts Chris Sauer, president of Ocean Renewable Power Company (ORPC) of Miami, Fla. Sauer, who has worked on power plant development since the late 1970s, says the Eastport proposal will be ORPC's lead project. The company plans to use Eastport for its operations center for tidal power projects in the Maritimes and New England. ORPC, which is also operating in Alaska, hopes to begin working with the provincial governments in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia on possible projects in those provinces. The company has established an office in Eastport, located in the former A&P building, and hired a part-time site manager, Bob Lewis.

"The test project is critical to our success," says Sauer. The one-third scale model will be used to collect performance and current data. "I've met with about 100 venture capital firms," he says. "There's a lot of interest, but they want to see the data."

The company had also considered a site off Shackford's Head in Eastport but decided against it after discussing the plans with members of the Cobscook Bay Fishermen's Association, who noted that the area is used for scallop and urchin dragging.

The one-third scale model, which will be deployed under a barge, will be used to demonstrate the feasibility of the technology and will help in raising the $8 million to $10 million needed for a full-scale prototype Ocean Current Generation (OCGen) module. The prototype, with three or four turbine generators stacked in the module, will be left in the water for a year. ORPC will then seek to install a commercial project.

The test model will assembled at the Boat School in Eastport, with local contractors being hired to assist, and the Eastport Port Authority will provide services in setting it up off Clark's Ledge. "The city, the port authority and the Boat School will be partners," says Sauer. "The level of cooperation we've received here is just tremendous."

Funding for the $1 million one-third scale test project is coming equally from the Maine Technology Institute, the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative and private equity funding.

ORPC expects a preliminary permit will be issued soon by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for the prototype project, with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit expected by mid-October. The company will then begin work on the FERC licensing process for the commercial project. Sauer hopes the commercial project can be installed in 2011.

The project area will extend north from Clark's Ledge toward Kendall's Head. The Passamaquoddy Tribe has been looking at Kendall's Head, Dog Island and Shackford's Head as possible sites for a tidal energy project, using different technology, and Sauer says there should be no conflict with the tribe's proposals. "We hope to cooperate with the tribe on current studies in the fall," he notes. ORPC is also sharing information with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), a California-based research firm that also has been conducting studies on the feasibility of siting a tidal energy project in the waters off Eastport.

Sauer says there are two reasons that tidal power development is now taking off: technological breakthroughs and a new emphasis on renewable energy. Technological advances include cross-flow turbines and recent developments in composite materials, permanent magnet generators and underwater connections. In addition, with global warming now a significant issue, more "clean tech" money is available and states are mandating that more power come from renewable sources.

In October, FERC will hold a technical conference on licensing pilot projects for ocean energy hydro technologies and will discuss a staff proposal for a process that could complete licensing in as few as six months. "Perhaps the greatest barrier to realizing the potential of new hydrokinetic technologies is that they are unproven," FERC Chairman Joseph T. Kelliher said in a release. "These technologies must be demonstrated before large-scale commercial deployment can occur.

"This new generation of hydrokinetic technologies will bring hydropower to the forefront of the renewable energy debate," Commissioner Moeller said. "It is generating a lot of enthusiasm throughout the country, particularly in coastal states like my home state of Washington. FERC wants to harness this enthusiasm by exploring ways to reduce the regulatory barriers to realize the amazing potential of this domestic renewable power source -- one that can help meet renewable portolio standards established by the states."