The second company to present its proposal for a tidal waterpower project to Wiscasset selectmen described in depth its unique approach for possible future consideration Tuesday.
Chris Sauer, president and CEO of Ocean Renewable Power Co. based in Portland, said, “We’re emerging [as] a leader in tidal water energy.”
Currently his company has two project sites, in Eastport at Western Passage and Cobscook Bay as well as one at Cook Inlet in Alaska to determine whether the tidal resources will be adequate for a full-scale emission-free operation at each location.
Electrical power would be transmitted from turbine-generator units (TBU’s) to the nearby power grid at Bailey Point, the former Maine Yankee site.
The company has been working in conjunction with the School of Marine Sciences at the University of Maine at Orono and Maine Maritime Academy, he said. The project involves proprietary ocean current generation technology.
Output for the demonstration project at Eastport showed that a TGU generates up to 250 kilowatts of electricity in a six-knot current. Each TGU operates with a single underwater permanent magnet generator on a single shaft and has a robust power train with one moving part and no gears, Sauer said.
The demonstration project at Eastport began in July 2007 and the company launched it in December. The initial phase was completed in April this year and testing has continued this fall, he said.
Sauer believes the demonstration projects has proved the technical feasibility of the TGU having met or exceeded expectations ten out of 12 performance criteria. The unit self-starts in current speeds under two knots and generates electricity continuously and in direct proportion to current speed until current speeds fall below one knot.
The company spend $1.3 million for the initial phase, over half of which it spent in Maine and mostly locally, including significant local purchases of supplies and services, and the project created over 30 jobs at peak activity, according to Sauer.
The vertical height of each TGU is low for the generation units, which would be moored near the bottom of the Sheepscot/Back River, make stacking possible. Each contains the turbines, which have horizontal blades that turn with the tidal currents as they go in and out at a site.
The option Ocean Renewable Power Co. offers has similarities to the project, which Natural Currents of New England presented recently to the board.
At Tuesday’s session, Peter Arnold, the Chewonki Foundation’s sustainability coordinator, introduced Sauer and handed the board a draft of an application for a three-year preliminary application, which the town could submit to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in order to have some control over tidal water development in Wiscasset.
Arnold recently told the board, Chewonki is willing to help the town to submit the application with grant money it has available to provide some local control with the expectation that the FERC give precedence to communities over companies. The board has accepted the offer from the local educational foundation to cover costs for preparing the permit application.
“A permit will give the town the ability to negotiate for the benefits you’re seeking,” he said.
Sauer gave examples of municipalities that obtained permits such at the Snohomish Public Utility District in Washington State and Edgartown, Mass. However, Eastport chose to work with ORPC and not file an application, and instead a memorandum of understanding was executed.
Arnold expressed a desire for the board to be aware of the tidal projects already in existence in Maine, namely the Maine Tidal Power Project, which the ORPC has undertaken.
Also addressing the board, Huijie Xue, professor of oceanography at the University of Maine, explained some of the tidal resources available on the Maine coast giving the Eastport projects as an example.
During the presentation, Sauer said the company stressed the importance of working with the community throughout the development and operation, as well as with regulatory agencies, fishermen, environmental groups, and other stakeholders.
“It’s a long-term partnership with a long-term relationship, something you’ve got to prove over time,” he said.
Sauer anticipates funds for the project in Wiscasset would come mostly from private investments although some federal funding could be available through grants from the U.S. Dept. of Energy.
Touted as an emerging “clean-tech” renewable energy industry, the Maine Tidal Energy cluster includes UMO for research and development, engineering, and environmental studies and MMA for research and development and engineering/operations oversight and Maine companies like U.S. Windblade of Bath, Harbor Technologies in Brunswick, Devine Tarbell & Associates in Portland, and Pierce Atwood for legal counsel.
Citizens asked questions about the project, such as the benefits to the town. Resident George Green expressed concern that there should be some financial and/or other advantages.
“What I want the board to remember is we hold the deck of cards,” he said.
