The U.S. is set to get its first tidal power turbines placed off the coast of Maine this summer.
The TidGen Cobscook Bay project is located of the coast of Eastport, Maine. Turbines will be placed in 50-100 feet deep water to take advantage of the 100 billion tons of water that flow in and out of Cobscook Bay each day. When the project goes live, it’ll feed into the public power grid and generate enough juice to power between 75 and 100 homes, and the plan is to eventually install enough turbines to generate 3MW of power, which should cover the needs of over 1,000 homes and businesses. Tidal power is not a new concept, and tidal generators have already been placed off the coast of Scotland and have been operating there for over a year. Utilizing tidal power is an efficient use of a renewable energy source. The U.S. needs to accelerate the installation of tidal generators and add it to the solar and wind trifecta of renewable energy sources we have at our disposal.
Photo Credit: U.S. Department of Energy
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