Marine renewable energy firm nabs innovation award

Ocean Renewable Power Co., based in Portland, Maine has been given the Maine International Trade Center Innovator of the Year Award.

The developer of clean, renewable power systems that harness energy from free-flowing rivers and tidal currents has become a global leader in marine renewable energy. In Alaska, it developed the longest operating river current energy converter system in North America. The company’s customer pipeline has expanded into more communities in Alaska, as well as Canada, Chile and Europe.

Unable to visit prospective river and tidal energy sites in order to assess their energy generating potential with travel prohibited during the pandemic, the team at Ocean Renewable Power adapted and is now benefiting from strong global interest in aggressive climate change mitigation, including local renewable energy sources. The company responded to inquiries from almost 20 countries in the past year.

President John Ferland described the award as significant, noting that it is “tangible recognition of ORPC’s commercialization ability, the importance of our marine energy product development and testing efforts in Maine as beneficial to the state’s economy, and the many talents of our team in developing new products and competing in the global marketplace.”

ORPC Canada, founded in 2015 and based in Montreal, is tasked with building a North American supply chain to provide marine renewable energy systems to customers in Canada and around the world.

Source(s) and Images(s): Ocean Renewable Power Company and Atlantica Centre for Energy