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January 16, 2018

ORPC expands management team to tap new growth opportunities

Courtesy / Ocean Renewable Power Co. Ocean Renewable Power Co.'s newly expanded senior management team are, proceeding clockwise from the bottom, Abbey Manders, Chris Sauer, Cian Marnagh, John Ferland, Jarlath McEntee and Nathan Johnson.

Ocean Renewable Power Co., a Portland-based company that creates hydrokinetic power systems to create electricity, is expanding its executive management team to advance the company’s growth and capitalize on new opportunities.

ORPC became the first company to connect tidal power generators to the electric grid with a pilot project deployed in August 2012 in Cobscook Bay near Eastport.  It followed that initial success with the successful completion in 2014 of a demonstration project testing its RivGen power system in the Kvichak River at the remote Alaskan village of Igiugig, 275 miles southwest of Anchorage. 

The company announced Monday that effective Jan. 1, Cian Marnagh and Nathan Johnson were promoted and named to its management team in order to tap new opportunities “that will provide environmentally sustainable electricity for remote communities in high-cost power markets, notably in northern Quebec, where energy powered by diesel costs more than 12 times that from the Quebec grid.”

ORPC’s news release also noted that “similar market dynamics exist in Alaska and throughout northern Canada.”

Marnagh, who joined ORPC in 2014, is now vice president of engineering and program management. With over 20 years’ experience in systems engineering, operations and product development, he has been instrumental in advancing ORPC’s proprietary marine renewable energy technology.

Johnson, who’s been with ORPC since 2012, was named vice president of development. He has 20 years’ experience in renewable energy, construction management, and environmental affairs and has played a significant role in ORPC’s highly regarded stakeholder outreach efforts.

They join existing management team members Abbey Manders, recently promoted to vice president and chief financial officer; Jarlath McEntee, recently promoted to senior vice president and chief technology officer; President and COO John Ferland and Chairman, CEO and Co-founder Chris Sauer.

“To accomplish our ambitious goals and tackle new opportunities in 2018 and beyond, we are expanding our executive team to achieve a higher level of management excellence,” Sauer said in an announcement to investors, major partners and staff. “We are truly fortunate to have such seasoned, skilled, and dedicated professionals to help us manage our growth effectively.”

Projects underway in four markets

Currently, ORPC is executing projects in Maine, Alaska, Canada and Ireland totaling over $16 million.

“Our future growth and, ultimately, our profitability depend on excellence in execution of our business plan,” Sauer said.

In other management changes announced Monday, Ryan Tyler has been promoted to senior project engineer and Sean Anderton has been named director of information technology and field services. ORPC is currently in the process of hiring for two new engineering positions to further bolster the company’s industry leading team.

When these positions are filled, ORPC will have 26 employees working in three countries on two continents.

In addition to company headquarters in Portland, an operations center in Eastport, Maine and a project office in Anchorage, Alaska, wholly-owned subsidiaries of ORPC are located in Montreal (Énergies Marines Renouvelables Québécoises, or EMARQ) and in Dublin (ORPC Ireland).

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