BY DONNA WESTFALL

Questions asked about energy independence aren’t new.  Katherine Kelly, author of the initiative and successful fluoride moratorium, 2012, sent in articles on a company that installed Tidal Turbines in Maine back in 2011.  Until recently, it’s been the only US tidal-energy turbine ever deployed .  It started supplying energy to the grid on September 13, 2012, generating power from the bottom of Cobscook Bay in Maine.

Aimed at reducing the cost of electricity, each day, 100 billion tons of water flow in and out of the Bay of Fundy.  Considered the number 1 tidal  The Bay is located on the border between Eastern Maine and Canada. The energy produced there is the equivalent of the force of 8,000 locomotives.  Ocean Renewable Power Company (ORPC)  is the first ocean energy project delivering power to the public grid. Currently it’s producing enough energy to power 30 homes.  In the future, with the installation of additional units, they expect the energy produced from clean tidal energy will be powering 2,000 homes and businesses.

Boasting the second highest tidal range in North America is Cooks Bay, Alaska.  ORPC is collaborating with Homer Electric to provide jobs and energy to the area.

The question arises as to whether or not Crescent City could benefit from such installations?  Or if our area has enough tidal force to be considered for such a system. If yes, then the number of jobs created would be extremely helpful to our economy.