Maine Coast Guard Planning Tidal Power Project
The U.S. Coast Guard station located in Maine, may just be the first government building to take advantage of tidal power. The $100,000 project would tap into the tidal power of 6 knot currents and 20 foot tides at Eastport.
Passamaquoddy Bay, an inlet that straddles the Maine and New Brunswick border, has the greatest tidal swings in the entire United States. Ocean Renewable Power Co. has already been in the process of testing turbines off the shore that would generate enough electricity to power thousands of homes.
The Maine Coast Guard already has turbines at several stations, including South Portland and Southwest Harbor. Around 90 percent of the navigational buoys that are lighted off of New Hampshire and Maine are powered by solar panels. And, out of the 68 lighthouses in the area, 60 are powered with solar energy.