Bangor Hydro Electric's tidal energy project now operational

Oct. 1, 2012
Bangor Hydro Electric Co. says the Ocean Renewable Power Co.'s (ORPC) Cobscook Bay Tidal Energy Project is delivering electricity to its power grid. This

Bangor Hydro Electric Co. says the Ocean Renewable Power Co.'s (ORPC) Cobscook Bay Tidal Energy Project is delivering electricity to its power grid. This is the first power from any ocean energy project including offshore wind, wave and tidal, to be delivered to an electric utility grid in the United States. It's the only ocean energy project, other than one using a dam, that delivers power to a utility grid anywhere in North, Central and South America, according to a ORPC press release.

In late summer, ORPC completed installation of the first TidGen Power System at the Cobscook Bay project site, including the on-shore station in Lubec, Maine. This first TidGen device has a peak output of 180 kilowatts and will generate enough electricity annually to power 25 to 30 homes. Two additional TidGen devices will be installed at ORPC's Cobscook Bay Project site in the fall of 2013 and together the three-device power system will generate enough energy to power 75 to 100 homes.