This Boston Globe story has got me churning!
"In Maine, a US first in tidal energy; Commercial project dedicated" by Erin Ailworth | Globe Staff, July 25, 2012
EASTPORT, Maine — The nation’s first commercial tidal energy project was dedicated Tuesday in this northeastern-most city of the United States, the beginning of a new industry that energy officials project could someday generate a significant portion of the nation’s electricity....
Actually, it's an old industry, but we will let go out with the tide right now.
Related: The Clear Cut Need For Power
So how long we looking at here with this front-page promotion piece?
It is the product of several years and millions of dollars in investment by Ocean Renewable Power’s backers and the Department of Energy. The Cobscook Bay Tidal Energy Project cost about $21 million....
Okay. Let's home things don't cloud up, 'eh?
This is not the first time someone has tried to harness the tides here to make energy.
Then it is NOT a NEW INDUSTRY!
Small tide mills that use underwater wheels to power machinery have been used in Maine since at least the 18th century.
Oh, it is a VERY OLD IDEA and INDUSTRY!
In the 1930s, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt championed a plan that would have dammed both Cobscook and nearby Passamaquoddy Bay, corralling the seawater for electricity generation.
I'm not a big believer in dams because they often have unintended(?) side effects.
Though work was started on the project, it was ultimately abandoned because of political opposition.
Is that just a fancy way of saying people protested?
Under a 20-year contract hashed out earlier this year, electricity from Ocean Renewable Power’s tidal generators will be sold to three Maine utilities for a starting price nearly double Maine’s average electricity price.
Sigh.
See: NStar Passes Wind On To Customers
Cough.
The high price, local and federal officials say, is justified by the economic benefit that the growing tidal energy industry could bring to communities like Eastport, where the canneries and other seafood processing industries have all but vanished.
To where? How far could they go, Canada?
Related: Boston Globe Hauls Up Lobster Trap
I'll pick mine out later.
The unemployment rate in Eastport, a city of about 1,450, topped 12 percent in June, seasonally unadjusted, compared to 7.5 percent in all of Maine and 8.2 percent nationally.
Ever notice the propaganda press always notes individual states as being below the national average (except tiny Rhode Island, obviously the destroyer of the job numbers and this wonderful recovery we have all been experiencing), but also notes whatever particular community they are covering for a specific piece of agenda-pushing s*** it's much higher than the national average? It's only anecdotal, but I read a lot of Globes.
Since 2007, Ocean Renewable Power has created and retained more than 100 jobs in Maine, and invested about $14 million statewide — including about $4 million in and around Eastport and nearby Lubec, where transmission lines will bring the power onshore.
“Overall it could be very important to coastal communities,” said Steven Chalk, deputy assistant secretary for renewable energy for the Energy Department, which has helped fund the project. “If this thing scales up from one [grid-connected] demonstration to several and then into new markets, from a manufacturing standpoint this will have a lot of positive stimulation on the economy.”
While ocean energy is still very much a budding industry, Paul Jacobson, a project manager at the Electric Power Research Institute, a California nonprofit, said tidal energy already is proving to have advantages over other renewable sources, such as wind.
Which means$ it won't be developed as it $hould.
First, he said, the systems can be placed underwater and out of sight, unlike the turbine towers of the controversial Cape Wind project. Second, since water is so much denser than air, smaller devices can be used to generate power.
But perhaps the most important advantage, Jacobson said, is predictability. Tides shift from high tide to low tide about every six hours, without fail. “That’s highly valuable to the folks who have to manage the generation and transmission system,” he said. “To know how much power they can expect to get from a system over time is valuable.”
The Energy Department estimates wave and tidal currents on the nation’s coasts have the potential to generate up to roughly one-third of the nation’s total annual electricity consumption.
It is unclear how much of that potential will be realized, but much of the tidal industry’s focus is in Maine. Massachusetts and New Hampshire are also ranked among the top 10 states for ocean power potential by the Energy Department.
In Eastport, the tidal power is already generating an economic boost for the long-struggling community. People are quick to tick off names of relatives and friends who do business with Ocean Renewable Power. Bank Square Pizza and Deli/Mexcetera proudly displays a sign near the cash register touting the establishment as “ORPC’s Favorite Mexican Restaurant.”
Robert Peacock, chairman of Eastport’s city council and a harbor pilot, said the company’s impact cannot be overstated. “It has really paid off big time because it has brought so much work into Eastport — not just the manufacturing but for the restaurants and businesses,” Peacock said. “It gives our kids hope that there’s something in the region that they can come back to. It’s bringing jobs. It’s bringing a change in attitude. It’s bringing hope.”
Aaaah, I don't feel like making waves on this one.
--more--"
And the tide rolls back in, readers:
"State launches investigation into ‘smart meters’" Associated Press, July 25, 2012
Maine regulators are investigating health and safety issues regarding Central Maine Power Co.’s “smart meters’’ after the state’s highest court ruled the commission had failed to adequately address concerns that they may emit harmful radiation. The Public Utilities Commission issued an order Tuesday initiating the investigation. The Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled this month that the agency had not adequately addressed safety concerns about the meters. The ruling had no immediate impact on the more than 600,000 smart meters already installed across the state. The utility says the meters are safe, but critics say they emit radio-frequency radiation that can cause heart palpitations, sleep loss, and other health issues."
Related: Smart Meter Stimulates Maine Unemployment
And you thought the job would be the death of you.
Also see:
With growing opposition to ‘smart meters,’ Vt. favors free opt-out
Now why would they want to do that?
New Mexico's Smart Tech Ghost Town
I guess that is a good enough reason.
Time to check that Globe lobsta' trap:
Maine seafood shack owner claws to the top
Clams take center stage at Yarmouth Clam Festival
Along 9-mile ribbon, a clam lover’s paradise
Lobster prices plunge, to fishermen’s chagrin
Raffled monster lobster now aquarium’s prize
Lobstermen finding more odd colors in the catch
You know, considering the fouled Gulf, the radioactive Pacific, and the funky lobsters, I'm just gonna pass on the seafood.
Also see: Plan needed for Maine woods: highway, park, something else?
Green groups blast highway proposal in Maine
Officials raze historic home in error
Oooops.
Old Orchard Beach fire blamed on sparklers
Maine farms open their doors to public
Tern population abandons Maine island
Expanded Appalachian Trail to span three continents
I can't walk that far.
