Award-Winning Technology

• Top 10 List of the World's Most Innovative Energy Companies — Fast Company
• Tibbetts Award, “Model of Excellence” — U.S. Small Business Administration
• Outstanding Stewards of America's Waters Award for Operational Excellence — National Hydropower Association
• Emerging Company of the Year Award — New England Clean Energy Council
• Business Leader for the Environment Award — Sierra Club of Maine
• Technology Company of the Year — Technology Association of Maine

Carbon Emissions

Global carbon emissions totaled more than 37 billion metric tons last year, up almost 90% since 1970. This was primarily driven by burning fossil fuels to generate electricity, according to the EPA. If left unchecked, the potential impact on our climate could be devastating.

ORPC’s Zero Carbon Energy Solution

Extracting energy from water currents is a clean, sustainable answer to the carbon emissions problem. Water current resources exist in every region of the world, and there is enough extractable energy in water currents to provide one-third of the world’s annual electricity needs. ORPC has developed an award-winning, proprietary energy solution that harnesses the power of water currents, with none of the greenhouse gases generated by fossil fuels.

Potential Reduction in Carbon Emissions

Within 20 years, we could avoid pumping nearly 80 million metric tons of carbon dioxide into the environment annually, if ORPC power systems were deployed worldwide. Between now and 2050, this could result in total avoided emissions of over 1.6 billion metric tons of CO₂, equivalent to taking 354 million vehicles off the road, conserving 3.8 billion barrels of oil, or retiring 428 coal-fired power plants. If the full potential of this market is achieved, carbon reductions could grow to almost 180 million metric tons annually, or twice the emissions generated by the State of Colorado.

ORPC Power Systems

ORPC power systems are built around our unique and patented core technology, the turbine generator unit or TGU. This unit consists of multiple cross-flow turbines and an underwater generator connected to a single driveshaft, which can be submerged in water as shallow as 5 meters deep. As water currents pass through the TGU, they rotate the turbines and generator, producing electricity. This power is then transmitted through an underwater cable to an on-shore interconnection point.

RivGen® Power Systems

ORPC’s RivGen® Power System connects directly into utility power grids or remote diesel-electric grids. An important and unique feature of the RivGen® Power System is that it is self‐deploying and self-retrieving, requiring only a small‐ to medium‐sized support vessel, commonly available even in remote river or coastal communities. Depending on the speed of the water currents, a RivGen® device generates up to a maximum of 80 kW.

The RivGen® Power System components are transported in intermodal shipping containers to staging areas near a project site and arrive ready for final assembly. When assembled, the RivGen® device is towed to the project site where the anchor has been installed. The device is held by anchor lines and then ballasted into position on the river bed. A power and data cable runs along the river bottom to an on‐shore interconnection point. Any number of RivGen® devices can be installed at a site in this manner, depending on community needs and site characteristics.

TidGen® Power Systems

TidGen® is a suite of power generation devices that individually can generate up to 700 kW of power from tidal or ocean currents, depending on their configuration and the velocity of the currents. These power systems provide flexibility and adaptability to a full range of site conditions and can be deployed in sites as shallow as 15 meters and as deep as several hundred meters. They can be located within the water column at the location of highest power density, maximizing power output. The TidGen® TGU is positively buoyant and is secured to anchors on the bottom using a tensioned mooring system. Depending on community and/or regional power grid needs and project site characteristics, a TidGen® Power System installation can include up to several dozen TidGen® devices.

TidGen®4 Device

The TidGen®4 device was designed for community-scale tidal (or river) projects and can be deployed and retrieved using only assets typically available in communities where little installation infrastructure exists. The TidGen®4 device contains two rows of double cross‐flow turbines and can generate up to 350 kW, depending on current velocity.

TidGen®8 Device

The TidGen®8 device is larger than the TidGen®4 with two rows of four turbines. It is capable of generating up to 700 kW, depending on water current velocities.

Autonomous TGU

ORPC’s Autonomous TGU (ATGU) is in development, funded in part by the U.S. Department of Energy’s ARPA‐E program. This subsea power generation module is a self‐propelling, self‐deploying, self‐retrieving, electricity generating system capable of performing heavy lifts. The ATGU generates power from currents greater than 1 meter per second with a rated capacity of 4 kW at a flow speed of 2.25 meters per second. The active pitching system can switch from power generation mode to propulsion mode so that the entire power system can actively self‐deploy and self‐retrieve from the seafloor with the use of a small vessel. The ATGU can relocate from an energetic tidal site where the system charges its battery bank, to a less energetic site where the charged battery bank can deliver power to an unmanned underwater vehicle charging system.

Potential market applications include distributed subsea power (such as scientific observation and data collection systems), underwater surveillance and monitoring, subsea construction and salvage, and offshore oil and gas operations.

Advantages vs. Wind and Solar Power

• ORPC power systems are able to achieve significantly higher levels of renewable energy penetration on the grid, as compared to wind and solar.
• Because they are completely submerged, ORPC systems do not block views and have no navigation, noise or floating debris issues.
• Given the significant power density of water currents, our systems use only 2% of the land area required for wind or solar.
• Unlike the wind and sun, tidal, river, and ocean currents are reliable and predictable and not subject to sudden, unpredictable variations or adverse weather.
• Solar and wind are not the best alternatives in extreme latitudes, due to lack of year-round sunlight and harsh, frigid, icy weather conditions. Being submerged underwater in extreme weather conditions is a significant advantage.

Technical Advantages

• ORPC’s advanced-design cross flow turbines rotate in the same direction in both ebb and flood tidal currents; no mechanical repositioning to the flow is needed.
• The direct‐drive (no gears) TGU has a lower vertical profile that allows for deployment in shallower sites, increasing our market potential.
• Our devices are easier to deploy and retrieve using commonly available marine equipment and locally available personnel.
• Requiring fewer assets and a smaller weather window, ORPC’s power systems present dramatically reduced installation, operational, and maintenance costs and risks.

With our current technology, we estimate ORPC’s total addressable market is approximately $480 billion. Robust market opportunities for marine renewable energy exist in off‐grid and regional and national on-grid locations around the globe. In remote off‐grid locations, there are significant market opportunities in local communities and industrial facilities, such as mining, where electricity is very expensive and has limited or no availability. Even larger market opportunities exist in locations currently served by large, centralized grids in countries where the cost of electricity is high (above $0.20/kWh).

Immediate Market Opportunity in Islanded Communities

Our immediate focus is the more than two billion people who live in isolated regions, commonly referred to as “islanded” communities. They are surrounded by water or uninhabited land, with no access to a regional power grid or fuel pipelines. These include rural communities at the end of electricity supply networks and traditional remote communities that are wholly isolated from centralized grid infrastructures. Most islanded communities that do have access to electricity are totally reliant on power generated by imported fossil fuels (primarily diesel), resulting in high energy costs and environmental damage that threaten long‐term sustainability and hamper economic development. For these communities, the cost of electricity is 5 to 15 times higher than the average paid by customers on utility-scale grids.

We estimate that marine renewable energy could replace 1.6 gigawatts of currently installed diesel-generating capacity in these communities. This estimate comprises communities located across North and South America that are currently reliant on diesel fuel and located near potential hydrokinetic resources. This represents a revenue opportunity for ORPC of over $16 billion.

We are penetrating this market segment through identified customers in Alaska, northern Québec (Nunavik), Nunavut, Nova Scotia, and southern Chile.

Cobscook Bay Tidal Energy Project

ORPC made history in 2012 when we built and operated the first revenue‐generating, grid‐connected tidal energy project in North America and the first ocean energy project to deliver power to a utility grid anywhere in the Americas. Called the Cobscook Bay Tidal Energy Project and funded in part by a highly competitive $10 million award from the U.S. Department of Energy, the Project was installed at a site located near the U.S./Canadian border at the mouth of the Bay of Fundy, off the coast of Eastport and Lubec, Maine.

Igiugig RivGen® Power System Project

In 2014, ORPC built and operated our first river energy project, delivering power to the remote Alaskan village of Igiugig. Working in collaboration with local villagers, ORPC made technology upgrades and re‐installed and operated the RivGen® Power System in Igiugig in 2015, demonstrating a one-third improvement in performance and providing one-third of the community’s electricity needs. This second deployment proved again the efficacy of the self‐deployment and self‐retrieval capabilities of the system.

ORPC sells marine renewable energy power systems and associated services to customers worldwide. Our revenue streams include:

• Sales of power systems;
• Development services, including permitting and site characterization;
• Technical services, such as operations and maintenance, monitoring, training, overhaul and repair, and upgrades;
• Technology licensing; and
• Electricity sales from projects in which ORPC is an owner.

We are also in negotiations with an independent financing company that plans to set up a systems leasing company (LeaseCo) to provide outside capital to purchase ORPC power systems and lease them to ORPC customers. LeaseCo could significantly increase market acceptance and accelerate market penetration for ORPC as it would make it easier for customers, particularly early adopter customers, to acquire ORPC power systems.

• Raised over $90 million in public/private capital
• Awarded 37 highly competitive grants by U.S. federal and state governments, including the U.S Department of Energy and U.S. Department of Agriculture, as well as Canadian, Irish, and European Union agencies
• Successfully completed 11 deployments of ORPC power systems in both tidal and river applications
• Granted 39 patents
• Received “no adverse environmental impacts” determination by federal and state regulatory agencies
• First company in the Americas to deliver power to a utility grid from an ocean energy project of any type (not involving a dam)
• First company in the U.S. to negotiate and execute a long‐term power purchase agreement for power from a marine renewable energy project
• Only company in the world to deliver power to grids from both a tidal and a river marine renewable energy project
• 2016 winner of the National Hydropower Association’s “Outstanding Stewards of America’s Waters” award for Operational Excellence for the Igiugig, Alaska, RivGen® Power System Project
• Approved for Technology Qualifications: Statement of Feasibility, Certification Report and Certification Plan by DNV GL, an international accredited registrar and classification society
• Developed strong relationships with leading research and technology centers in North America and Europe, including:
  • The Pennsylvania State University Applied Research Laboratory
  • University of Washington, Pacific Marine Energy Center
  • University of Maine, School of Marine Science
  • University of Maine Advanced Structures and Composites Center
  • Dartmouth College, Thayer School of Engineering
  • University of New Hampshire Center for Ocean Engineering
  • University of Alaska Anchorage
  • University of Alaska Fairbanks Center for Energy and Power
  • National Renewable Energy Laboratory
  • Sandia National Laboratories
  • National Research Council of Canada
  • Laval University
  • University College Cork
• Executed a joint development agreement with Hydro‐Québec for research and development in marine energy
• Established a memorandum of understanding with CIMA+ for collaboration to advance sales of ORPC power systems, and a letter of intent with the Makivik Corporation to form a new joint business entity that will develop, own, and operate marine renewable energy projects in Nunavik
• Developed partnerships with key suppliers of turbines, generators and power electronics

“The Energy Fix: Engineering Triumphs Over Wave And Tidal Forces” — Popular Science

“In Maine, a US first in tidal energy” — Boston Globe

“The Search for Energy Takes a Turn Underwater” — The New York Times

“Ocean Renewable Power Co. calls Alaskan pilot project a 'huge success'” — Mainebiz