Cobscook Bay Tidal Energy Pilot Project

The Cobscook Bay Tidal Energy Project was created to develop ORPC’s field operational and design experience in a feasible tidal flow environment, while providing renewable energy to the local grid, supporting community energy independence and resiliency. ORPC designed the TidGen® Power System deployed in the first phase of the project to operate in water depths of 60 to 150 ft. The core component of the TidGen Power System is ORPC’s proprietary turbine generator unit (TGU). The TGU utilized four advanced design cross-flow (ADCF) turbines to drive a permanent magnet generator mounted between the turbines on a common driveshaft. The TGU was 98 ft in length, 17 ft high and 17 ft wide. It was attached to a bottom support frame, which held the TGU in place approximately 15 ft above the sea floor. The bottom support frame was 98 ft long by 50 ft wide by 15 ft high. The bottom support frame was constructed of steel, and the TGU was constructed of steel and composite material. The coupled TGU and bottom support frame comprised the TidGen device. The TidGen device was connected to an underwater power consolidation module, which was then connected to an on-shore station through a single underwater power and data cable. The on-shore station was interconnected to the local power grid. The TidGen device and the related cabling and on-shore station comprised a complete TidGen Power System.

orpc.co

Project Manager

Ocean Renewable Power Company

Additional Information

Project Website

Project Status Is the project actively being planned or is deployed in the water (active)? Or was the project canceled or completed (inactive)?

Inactive

Project Life Cycle Project Progress through life cycle:<ul> <li>Planned: Project has identified a deployment location and is preparing for deployment</li> <li>Operational: Project is deployed in the water and is active</li> <li>Completed: Project was previously deployed in the water</li> <li>Decommissioned: Installation has been fully removed in accordance with regulations</li> <li>Canceled: Project was canceled before being deployed in the water</li></ul>

Completed

Max Rated Power Capacity The maximum amount of electricity that can be produced by project, based on available resources and device nameplate capacity.

0.06 MW

Operational Duration

September 2012 - July 2013

Project Duration

2009 - 2013

Energy Resource

Tidal

Project Scale

Full-scale

Number of Devices

1

Grid Connectivity

Grid Connected

Waterbody

Cobscook Bay, Maine

Site Characteristics Geographic characterization for the project location:<ul> <li>Open Ocean: Main body of ocean, not enclosed or partially enclosed by land</li> <li>Coastal: Open water near the coast, spanning between land and shelf boundary</li> <li>Enclosed Bay: water that is partially surrounded by land, with a mouth open to larger water</li> <li>Constricted Channel: A channel where water flows quickly due to narrowing by the land</li> <li>River: Water flowing from land towards a larger body of water</li></ul>

Enclosed Bay

Country

United States

Environmental Details

Tethys Metadata

Last Modified

10 June 2025

This Project has the following MRE Devices

Citation Formats

“Cobscook Bay Tidal Energy Pilot Project.” Marine Energy Projects Database: Projects, PRIMRE, United States Department of Energy, https:https://openei.org/wiki/PRIMRE/Databases/Projects_Database/Projects/Cobscook_Bay_Tidal_Energy_Pilot_Project. Accessed <day> <monthRoman> <year>.

Marine Energy Projects Database: Projects. <year>. "Cobscook Bay Tidal Energy Pilot Project." Accessed <monthRoman> <day>, <year>. https:https://openei.org/wiki/PRIMRE/Databases/Projects_Database/Projects/Cobscook_Bay_Tidal_Energy_Pilot_Project.

PRIMRE/Databases/Projects Database/Projects/Cobscook Bay Tidal Energy Pilot Project

Cobscook Bay Tidal Energy Pilot Project

This Project has the following MRE Devices

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