Traditional skills adapted for tidal project

Sections of the first commercial tidal turbine in the U.S. are now being assembled in Eastport, with "water-breaking," instead of a ground-breaking, expected within about a week in the waters of Cobscook Bay. The project is providing employment for a number of workers who are adapting skills learned from working on the water in the traditional fisheries or fish farming to a 21st century technology.
The nearly 100' x 54' base support frame for Ocean Renewable Power Company's first grid-connected, commercial TidGen Power System will be installed on the sea floor off North Lubec this month, with Perry Marine & Construction assembling the structure at its Deep Cove site next to the Boat School.
Gerald Morrison, one of the partners in PMC, notes that time constraints have meant the company has had to get the base frame in the water "as soon as possible." Delays in the purchase of the property and environmental restrictions on when work can be conducted, related to the migration of wild salmon to the Dennys River, have resulted in a small window of opportunity.
The fabrication of this first frame was subcontracted out to Newport Industrial Fabrication, with PMC bolting the five sections together. The frame will be lifted onto dollies by a 500-ton crane, taken down to the water and lifted again onto a 60' x 80' transport barge. It then will be taken out to the 55' x 150' deployment barge, which will be moored in place by eight anchors and four 12,000-pound blocks. Its 275-ton crane will lower the frame onto the sea floor, where it will be secured by ten 30" piles. A 100' x 14' x 14' prefabricated chassis that will house the generator then will be placed on the support frame. The unit will be approximately 60 feet below mean low water, halfway between Goose Island and Seward's Neck.
Depending on when Bangor Hydro-Electric upgrades its transmission line in North Lubec, ORPC hopes that the tidal turbine can be connected to the power grid in June, according to Chris Sauer, president and CEO of ORPC. The one unit is rated to produce up to 180 kilowatts, but since the currents in Cobscook Bay are not as strong as those in Western Passage, it's expected that its peak production will be 130 to 140 kilowatts. Sauer notes that the unit will produce the equivalent of the power used by 20 to 25 homes.
After this first unit is installed, PMC will construct a 80' x 120' building next to Deep Cove Road, where the present unit is being assembled. Also, a marine railway that will extend from the building to Deep Cove will be put in so that the frames can be launched without the use of cranes. The company expects to fabricate four additional base support frames in the building for the four more TidGen devices that will be installed in mid-2013.
With all five units, the power produced will be enough to run 100 to 150 homes, Sauer notes. The total tidal power capacity of the Cobscook Bay and Western Passage areas is roughly estimated at perhaps 50 megawatts, which would power thousands of homes.

Adapting to new technologies
Both ORPC and CPM Constructors' engineering teams have been handling the design work for producing and assembling the units for this first commercial tidal turbine, and Morrison points to some of the challenges that have been faced. "Normally you have guidelines to go by or others have done it before. This is a new design right from the start. That's the hardest part -- it hasn't been done before."
The partners in PMC, Morrison Manufacturing Inc. of Perry and CPM Constructors, are currently employing about 12 people to work on their part of the project. MMI hired two additional people last month and will hire four more when additional frames are built next winter. Morrison is appreciative of the work being done by his crew and also the support of his family.
ORPC is currently employing five people full-time in Eastport and 20 full-time in Portland and has employed the services of 38 or more contractors in Washington County. Among the numerous subcontractors who have been assisting with the project are the dive teams from Brayden's Future and Pepperrell Cove Marine Services of Portsmouth, electrician Gilbert Murphy, Wayne Clossey, Butch Harris, and Arthur Mahar, who helped with the groundwork. "The trickle down effect is substantial," notes Morrison.
Morrison is one of a number of people working on the project who have adapted the knowledge and skills learned through generations working on the waters Downeast in traditional fisheries to a new technology. His family has had weirs for years on the Perry shore, and he observes, "The same way you drive weir stakes -- it's the same principle when driving pilings" to secure the tidal turbines. From his years as a pilot he has acquired knowledge about the currents in the bay, and the divers who have worked for years diving at the salmon pens also know about the currents. "The local talent that's been overlooked for years is being recognized," he says, as the workers adapt their knowledge to the new industry. "They're meeting a challenge and finding how to make it work," he notes. "Everything has come together in a positive way."
Sauer comments that having that local knowledge has been essential for ORPC. "One of the best things about being located in the Eastport and Lubec area is the tremendous amount of expertise available locally with people who have been working on the water all of their lives." Noting that the current project is ORPC's third one in this area, Sauer says that having people like Morrison and Butch Harris work on the project "is a huge advantage to us. They know as much about putting the systems together and deploying them as we do because they've done it for us for our prior projects."
Morrison points out that people in this area are used to adapting to new kinds of work over the years, from scallop and urchin fishing to fish farming. "We never got out of the last Depression. It's always been a struggle here," he points out, adding that "some people want to work hard."
Now that the project is moving forward, he reflects on the support that his company has received. He notes in particular Kevin Raye of Perry, who helped negotiate the arrangement for PMC to purchase the property from the city, and the support from the community. "We're fortunate," says Morrison. "We feel honored and privileged to be provided the opportunity to undertake this venture."
Sauer also is grateful to the local communities for their support, which he says "is critical" to the project's success.