ORPC, ME win $15M in energy funding
Portland-based Ocean Renewable Power Co. is receiving up to $10 million in federal funds to commercialize the tidal turbine generator it's currently testing off the shore of Eastport.
The U.S. Department of Energy is giving the company an initial $2.7 million this year to advance its ocean energy project, and will provide additional matching funds over the next three years, according to a joint release from Maine's congressional delegation. ORPC has been testing a 60-kilowatt prototype of its generator in Cobscook Bay, and in August announced it had generated grid-compatible energy. The company plans to develop a 150-kW commercial generator and install it in the bay in 2011. The DOE awarded more than $37 million to hydro-energy projects, and ORPC's award was one of the largest.
In related news, the DOE also awarded Maine $4.5 million to fund energy-efficient retrofits of multi-family housing units in the state, according to a press release from the agency. The project seeks to reduce energy consumption by 25% or more in 2% of the state's 53,000 multi-family apartment buildings by 2013, with the ultimate goal of improving to 19% by 2021.
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