The Tide Mill Institute held its ninth annual conference this past Friday and Saturday. About 60 people interested in the past, present, and future of tidal energy gathered at the Topsfield Historical Society's Gould Barn in Massachusetts. The audience included developers of recreated historic tide mills and modern tidal power projects, inventors of tidal turbine technology, academics, state legislators, historians, architects, and other enthusiasts of tidal power.
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| Tide Mill Institute's John Goff speaks about historic tide mills in Salem, Massachusetts. |
Ocean Renewable Power Company's president and CEO, Chris
Sauer, gave the keynote presentation on ORPC's efforts and success in
developing modern hydrokinetic tidal power plants in the Gulf of Maine and elsewhere. Chris described the research and development
process that led to ORPC's Turbine Generator Unit or TGU. He also described the engineering,
regulatory, and commercial challenges of developing tidal power plants today,
as well as ORPC's approach to overcoming these challenges.
Other presentations included: Professor Kerr Canning's
exposition of a tide mill site he discovered on the Apple River in Nova Scotia;
Professor Robert Gordon's look at tide mill mechanics at sites in York, Maine;
a review of tide mill history on the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn, New York, by Angela
Kramer of the Brooklyn Historical Society and Proteus Gowanus; and a survey by
representatives of local historical societies of tide mills on the North Shore
of Massachusetts.
Tide Mill Institute members and attendees also enjoyed
displays on historic and modern tide power projects, and informal discussions
of archaeological discoveries and modern developments.
The Tide Mill Institute will hold its 10th annual
conference in 2014.
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