At the mouth of the Bay of Fundy on the border between easternmost Maine and New Brunswick, Canada, Ocean Renewable Power Co. has been testing huge undersea turbines that the company claims eventually will generate low-cost tidal power from the tidal flow in Cobscook Bay for all of Downeast Maine.
Cobscook Bay lies west of the Bay of Fundy, one of the world’s most powerful energy resources, which functions as a big pump, says ORPC President Chris Sauer. “Each day, 100 billion tons of water flow in and out with the force of 8,000 locomotives and tidal ranges of up to 50 feet or more,” he says.