Ocean Renewable Power Company announces plans to generate renewable energy in Alaska with Tidal Generators
Ocean Renewable Power Company (ORPC) – who planned to build a tidal generator in Nikiski – has announced their interest in a second tidal site. The company hopes this second site can harness the strong tides in the inlet to power machinery at Port MacKenzie, across Knik Arm from Anchorage.
ORPC is familiar with Alaska’s tides and their ability to create power as they already have a freshwater hydrokinetic generator in Igiugig on the Alaska Peninsula. However, this new development will be the first generator in saltwater in Alaska.
Merrick Jackinsky, ORPC Development Director, who’s based in Anchorage, said the generator could fully power the machine that keeps the dock at Port MacKenzie from corroding into the inlet – called a cathodic protection system. He estimates the project could create 80 kW of power for that machine.
Saltwater poses its own challenges for tidal tech and will require some extensive R&D to get it functioning as needed. The mechanisms will be similar, using the in and out motion of the tide to spin turbines which are connected to an underwater generator. This energy source could be more dependable as the tides are much more predictable than solar and wind.
Jackinsky said ORPC looked at Port MacKenzie as a project site a while ago. But at the time, there wasn’t a lot of information about the Cook Inlet belugas in the upper inlet, which is why the company turned its focus to the site in Nikiski.
Since then, he said, there’s been more research about the belugas there and more interest in renewables from the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, which owns the port.
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