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Print Edition StoriesWednesday, September 1, 2010
Tech across New England
Ocean Renewable Power Company turns to tides for power
By Mass High Tech Staff
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Ocean Renewable Power Company LLC
Location: Portland, Maine
Web: www.oceanrenewablepower.com
Phone: 207-772-7707
Founded: 2004
Top executive: Christopher R. Sauer, CEO
Industry: Tidal electricity
At Ocean Renewable Power Company, the 60-kilowatt tidal power system now producing electricity in Eastport, Maine, is just the start. The company plans to install its first system for supplying the electric grid by the end of 2011, a 150-kilowatt permanent system, at a site about a half mile from shore in Eastport. The company plans to continue installing systems in the Eastport area in following years — potentially reaching more than 100 megawatts of tidal power within the decade. The firm also expects to develop projects in Alaska, New Brunswick and, most likely, the Muskeget Channel off Martha’s Vineyard. The company says it is well along in securing permits from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for its first project in Alaska, and is helping to set precedents with the commission for how tidal power projects are regulated. The company has raised $20 million in funding, mostly from undisclosed sources, and is seeking another $20 million.
The company was founded in Florida in 2004 as Red Circle Systems Corp. and aimed to use the Gulf Stream as the energy source for its underwater turbines. The company moved its operation to Fall River, where it still has a one-person office, before moving to Portland in early 2008.
From the top, CEO Christopher Sauer: “We are leading the industry in the U.S. on a lot of fronts. We believe we will have the first commercial tidal energy technology for a U.S. company.”
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