thsi is beyond green and whatever treehugging thing one could conjure. Must be genius.
first in the nation:
EASTPORT, Maine — With the pending deployment in Cobscook Bay of the nation’s first underwater turbine to use tidal power to generate electricity, hundreds gathered Tuesday to celebrate a region now viewed as the Kitty Hawk of tidal energy.
For eight years, the Ocean Renewable Power Co. has been conceptualizing, fabricating, testing and refining what has evolved into a 90,000-pound, 98-foot turbine that will be submerged in August at a depth of 82 feet for a year of testing.
Should those tests prove successful, four identical turbines will be phased into use over the next few years. Collectively, they are expected to use the force of the Bay of Fundy region’s iconic tides to generate as much as 4 megawatts of power, enough electricity to power 1,000 homes.
During Tuesday’s 90-minute dedication ceremony, federal, state and local officials who have been vocal proponents of the project sang its praises and thanked Ocean Renewable for not only its technological vision, but the significant economic impact the project has had on the Eastport and Lubec communities. By one estimate, the project has pumped at least $15 million into the economy in recent years, with much of those funds spent locally.
Although the ceremony was periodically interrupted by showers, and at one point thunder, the project’s boosters, including former Maine Govs. Angus King and John Baldacci, endured the elements to mark the occasion.
first in the nation:
EASTPORT, Maine — With the pending deployment in Cobscook Bay of the nation’s first underwater turbine to use tidal power to generate electricity, hundreds gathered Tuesday to celebrate a region now viewed as the Kitty Hawk of tidal energy.
For eight years, the Ocean Renewable Power Co. has been conceptualizing, fabricating, testing and refining what has evolved into a 90,000-pound, 98-foot turbine that will be submerged in August at a depth of 82 feet for a year of testing.
Should those tests prove successful, four identical turbines will be phased into use over the next few years. Collectively, they are expected to use the force of the Bay of Fundy region’s iconic tides to generate as much as 4 megawatts of power, enough electricity to power 1,000 homes.
During Tuesday’s 90-minute dedication ceremony, federal, state and local officials who have been vocal proponents of the project sang its praises and thanked Ocean Renewable for not only its technological vision, but the significant economic impact the project has had on the Eastport and Lubec communities. By one estimate, the project has pumped at least $15 million into the economy in recent years, with much of those funds spent locally.
Although the ceremony was periodically interrupted by showers, and at one point thunder, the project’s boosters, including former Maine Govs. Angus King and John Baldacci, endured the elements to mark the occasion.
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