Ocean Renewable Power, Tidal Energy Company, To Sell Electricity To Maine

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine regulators on Tuesday put three utilities on the path to distribute electricity harnessed from tides at the nation's eastern tip, a key milestone in a bid to turn the natural rise and fall of ocean levels into power.

The Maine Public Utilities Commission set terms for a contract that would be in place for 20 years. The regulators also directed the three utilities to negotiate with Ocean Renewable Power Co. to put electricity onto the grid this summer, the first long-term power purchase agreements for tidal energy in the United States.

"It's a landmark in the commercialization of tidal energy in the U.S.," Chris Sauer, president and CEO of the Portland-based company, told The Associated Press.

Ocean Renewable intends to install its first underwater turbine unit this summer on Cobscook Bay under a demonstration project.

Power production will begin modestly, with the first unit producing enough electricity for 20 to 25 homes; the pilot program calls for additional units at sites off both Lubec and Eastport to bring production to 4 megawatts, enough to power up more than 1,000 homes by 2016.

All told, the company sees up to 50 megawatts of tidal power potential off Lubec and Eastport, home to one of the world's best tidal sites, where the tide rises and falls 20 feet twice a day.

The Maine Public Utilities Commission established what's called a contract term sheet for the project. It sets the rate to be paid for the tide-generated electricity at 21.5 cents per kilowatt hour, a subsidized rate that's far higher than the current standard offer of about 11 to 12 cents paid by most Maine residents.

Central Maine Power, Bangor Hydro Electric Co. and Maine Public Service Co. will negotiate a contract with Ocean Renewable under the framework established by regulators.

Richard Davies, Maine's public advocate, said there were some mixed emotions over setting a rate that's so much higher than the current cost of electricity.

But Davies and his staff came down in support of the project because the cost of energy produced by fossil fuels will likely grow much faster than the cost of tidal energy over the course of the 20-year contract. In fact, he said, the energy could become competitive within five years.

The 21.5-cent rate, which grows 2 percent a year over the contract, makes the project feasible, Sauer said. It'll be subsidized through a previously established state fund.

Ocean Renewable's Maine Tidal Energy Project is one of two tidal programs to receive pilot project licenses earlier this year from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The other company, Verdant Power, is working to advance its own tidal energy system in New York City's East River.

Verdant's design looks a lot like a wind turbine, only it's underwater. Ocean Renewable uses rotating foils that lend the appearance of a manual reel mower for cutting grass.

Officials in Canada are watching the Maine project with interest. Ocean Renewable and Nova Scotia-based Fundy Tidal Inc. hope to install the same units in waters off Nova Scotia, where Bay of Fundy offers even greater tidal power potential, officials have said.

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Comments

[Brian Rokita]

10:37 AM on 05/02/2012

i am all for this! i would rather some of my tax dollars go for this technology than some other program.

[aligatorhardt]

09:31 PM on 04/29/2012

Pollution free power is worth more than dirty power as there is no health damages and pollution damages. When the whole costs of using coal are figured it is twice the cost as advertised- the difference is that taxpayers pay for the damages and cleanups and health care instead of the utilities paying for their damages.  Coal Costs the U.S. $500 Billion Annually in Health, Economic, Environmental Impacts | Fast Company

Life-cycle study [ Epstein et al ]

[Kenz300]

03:00 PM on 04/28/2012

We have been subsidizing oil, coal and nuclear for decades. It is time to bring on the competition and support alternative forms of energy generation. Monopolies are only good for the monopoly and not for the consumer.

It is time to transition to safe, clean alternative energy.

[Kenz300]

03:51 PM on 04/26/2012

Technological advances in wind and solar have the prices for these technologies falling every year. The same will be true for tidal power.

The price of oil, coal and nuclear keep rising as resources get harder to find and more expensive to produce.

We need competition in the energy market. Bring on the wind, solar, wave energy, geothermal and second generation biofuels made from algae, cellulose and waste.

[sunsetter]

02:42 PM on 04/26/2012

What a waste - drive the price of electricity beyond what people can afford - and the utilities are paid off by the government to embrace this lunacy.

[Genders]

07:16 PM on 04/26/2012

Nukes and fossils get 100 times the total breaks that this project and wind and solar get. 12 cents is the subsidized price of nukes and fossils.

Nukes and fossils have gotten huge breaks for 50 and 0100 years, but you expect new clean tech to compete without help?

Cost wise, solar wind and waste are much cheaper than nukes. But they need the breaks and help to compete with the super heavy gov support for nukes and fossils.

[ColoradoCool]

02:31 AM on 04/27/2012

Ignorant much?

[Kenz300]

02:00 PM on 04/26/2012

It is time to transition to all forms of safe, clean alternative energy.

Wind, solar, wave energy, geothermal and second generation biofuels made from algae, cellulose and waste are the future.

The cost of wind and solar have dropped by over 50% in the past few years while the price of oil, coal and nuclear keep rising.

[Pata Locs]

01:35 PM on 04/26/2012

Alirght were gonna find anthor destructive way to make power! Its getting harder to find resources on land so weve decided to rape the ocean, that will put it off for a few more years.

No seriously, I see this as being destructive to the areas they are going install them. There will be a hudge cost to maintain them in saltwater and pollution will be the byproduct of installation and operation. Physical pollution as well as thermal from all the heat added to the water.

[Genders]

07:18 PM on 04/26/2012

Nope, it creates artificial reefs. But you want to ignore the damage oil, gas and nukes do to the oceans and the world.

[wtf is this]

10:57 PM on 04/26/2012

& deep sea drilling is so much safer?
What way do you have to create energy that has absolutely no environmental impact?

[mstraub]

09:36 AM on 04/26/2012

More than just Nova Scotia is watching, everyone near a major body of water is starting to realize the energy that is waiting to be tapped under the surface. It just takes a few trailblazers to lead the way and show that the power produced is clean, reliable, and affordable.

This is not all about tidal power as well, and it's certainly not about drilling underneath the ocean. The energy lying in the waters can be harnessed in many different ways. Take Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) for example, it creates endless emission free power from the temperature difference in shallow and deep water. It's a perfect match for tropical nations around the globe who pay enormous fossil fuel costs. Plus, the only byproduct of an OTEC system is clean drinking water by the millions of gallons.

It's the kind of technology we can proudly hand off to future generations, and people making the right moves today in Maine will open the door for people worldwide to see the oceans as endless renewable life giving power supplies.

See more on how OTEC works, and the countries pushing for it today at The On Project.
http://www.theonproject.org/otec/?utm_source=huffpost&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=mscomment

[susanbsbi]

09:11 AM on 04/26/2012

Every body needs to check out Norway's new source of power, besides the turbos, floating wind generators.

[stevecelt]

06:43 AM on 04/26/2012

It's always good when you are lucky enough to discover some electricity. The article didn't specify whether or not it was pure electricty.

[Genders]

07:18 PM on 04/26/2012

Huh? yeah, pure electricity.

[joellen835]

03:09 AM on 04/26/2012

I'm not getting too excited yet. As soon as the first Tuna, Orca, Seal, or Porpoise gets caught in one of those turbines and killed, the conservationalists will put a stop to it.

[Genders]

07:19 PM on 04/26/2012

I agree they have to deal with that. So far underwater turbines do not seem to kill fish, but they are very new.

[wtf is this]

10:59 PM on 04/26/2012

Conservatives could care less about the wildlife. They would only use that as a political tactic trying to stop alternative energies.

[MrDoughnut]

12:35 AM on 04/26/2012

Like the other story up there: Antartica Ice melting caused by warm water?

[MrDoughnut]

12:27 AM on 04/26/2012

The end of the beach era onward ye power hogs!

[Genders]

07:20 PM on 04/26/2012

No, it saves the beaches from oil spill and radioactive wastes.

[MrDoughnut]

12:25 AM on 04/26/2012

Everyone out of the water!

[babby201]

11:01 PM on 04/25/2012

Don't mess with the lobsters

[MrDoughnut]

12:30 AM on 04/26/2012

The Sharks will have to come on land now to get someone for dinner.