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June 4, 2009

Energy co. drops project in face of "local hostility"

By The Mainebiz News Staff

Maine Tidal Energy Co., which had proposed a tidal energy project in the Kennebec River near Bath, has dropped its proposal because of "local hostility," according to The Times Record.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission granted Maine Tidal a preliminary permit to study the area of the Kennebec between Bath and Woolwich for a potential 100-megawtt tidal energy project. However, Mike Hoover, general counsel for Washington, D.C.-based Oceana Energy Co., Maine Tidal's parent firm, said the company is surrendering its preliminary permit after finding that "insufficient development potential exists for pursuit of either a full development or pilot project there," according to a letter he sent to FERC dated May 31, 2009.

Hoover later told The Times Record that "local hostility" also deterred the company from pursuing the site. Friends of Merrymeeting Bay has opposed the project on environmental grounds from the beginning.

Reader comments

From Joe Pater

So did the friends of Merrymeeting Bay insist that we continue to power our cars with oil sent to us from the middle east?

From David Wheaton (Fri 6/5/2009 6:14 AM)

This is sad. The inhabitants of the state can't continue to keep the NIMBY attitude when it comes to alternative sources of energy. Maine has some unique properties that could position the state to be a leader in alternative energy development. People will look elsewhere if we continue with "local hostility" to every other possibility besides oil.  

From William E. Higgins Jr. (Thu 6/4/2009 3:08 PM)

Again the groups that want other sources of power defeat any alternative. The reality is that wind will not proide new base load for growth. We have dismantled more hydroelectric plants to allow fish to spawn upstream in recent years. Then we eliminated a nuclear plant that could have run for 20 ADDITIONAL YEARS, giving CMP rate increases which raised power costs for all customers. We replaced the plant with fossil power plants, ading to emissions

I ask, if you want to have electric vehicles, where is that power to come from? If you want more business growth, that growth must have access to power at a reasonable cost.

The best alternative is to replace Maine Yankee with a new nuclearplat that has a 60 year life. It should be designed to burn spent nuclear fuel, in an all plutonium recycle (APR) core. The SYSTEMS 80 certified design by Combustion Engineering had the APR as a design option. We can build a plant to burn spent fuel that has accumulated around the country. France uses fuel reprocessing to fuel it's plants, and those plants provide for over 70% of the electrical needs of the country.

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