Ocean Renewable Power Company

Technology Overview
AEA Hydrokinetic Technical Conference
April 12, 2010

Monty Worthington, Director of Project Development, Alaska

Ocean Renewable Power Company
Overview
• Developer of technology • Founded in 2004 with
and projects that convert executive offices in Portland,
river, tidal, and ocean Maine and project offices in
currents into emission • Anchorage, AK (ORPC Alaska,
free electricity LLC)
• Eastport, Maine (ORPC
Maine, LLC)
• Proprietary technology
including OCGen™, TidGen™,
and RivGen™ power systems
• Project sites in Cook Inlet and
Nenana, AK, and Eastport, ME
• Beta Turbine Generator Unit
(TGU) deployed in March 2010

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ORPC’s Technolgy Development
Philosophy
• Technology development • We include environmental
considerations as part and
and environmental parcel of the design process,
considerations are and place equal weight on
intrinsically connected environmental effects,
performance, cost and
reliability. This informs the
design of:

• ADCF Turbines
• Generator
• Bottom Attachment System
• Power Transmission System

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Hydrokinetic Energy
• Energy harnessed from moving water
without the use of dams or impoundments

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Tidal technologies
• 5 years ago …

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Tidal technologies
• Today!

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Two Basic Turbine Variations – Axial Flow and Cross
Flow Axial Flow
Cross Flow

New Energy’s 5kW Encurrent Turbine Marine Current Turbines

1.2 MW Sea Gen

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 ORPC Technology Evolution
Proprietary TGU is the core of three hydrokinetic power systems

Beta TGU
TidGen™ Power System OCGen™ Power System
Bottom mounted TGU for
Floating OCGen™ Modules (stacked
shallow tidal applications
TGUs) for deep tidal and offshore
ocean current applications

RivGen™ Power System

Bottom mounted TGU for
remote river applications

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 ORPC’s ADCF (Advanced Design Cross Flow) Turbine
► Developed by ORPC over the last 3 years and incorporates results of ORPC’s
year-long testing program for the prototype TGU completed in December 2008.
► Incorporates significant research, development and analysis done in conjunction
with the UMaine, Maine Maritime Academy and UMass-Dartmouth.
► Three patent applications for the ADCF turbine have been filed.

Key features:
► Helical foils adapted to varying
turbine diameter – maximum
diameter at mid-span
► Disks, rings and foils made with
E-glass/vinyl ester laminate using
vacuum infusion
► Carbon/E-glass hybrid primary shaft
► Intentionally removable foils (for
ease of replacement)
► Built by US Windblade in Bath, ME

First all composite hydrokinetic turbine built in the U.S.

 ORPC ADCF Turbine Specifications
 ADCF Turbines have been chosen for ORPC’s Technology development pathway for
reliability, efficiency, and environmental considerations
Key features:
► ADCF turbines spin at a modest
30-60 RPM comparable with most
modern tidal technologies
►As ADCF turbines are of the cross
flow design there is not a true “Tip”
as an axial flow design. This means
that Tip Speed Ratios (TSR’s) are
quite low compared to axial turbine
designs at 1.4 – 1.8
►This means that the fastest moving
leading edge of the turbine foils
moves at less than 10 knots in a 6
knot current
►ORPC ADCF turbines currently
operate at around 20% efficiency, our
turbine development process will
Beta TGU Turbines and Generator
increase this to over 30% efficiency
 ORPC’s Permanent Magnet Generator
► ORPC’s permanent magnet generator is designed to effectively convert the low RPM
High torque energy from the ADCF turbines into useful electricity with a direct Drive
►Future iterations of ORPC technology will utilize a different the practically similar
generator
Key features:
► Generator does not require step up
of Turbine RPMs to produce power
eliminating the need for a gear box
► With No Gearbox efficiency and
reliability are increased
►No Gearbox also means minimal
lubricants are necessary, Approx 3 oz of
bearing grease per TGU, reducing
environmental risks from fluid spills
►The generator is waterproof and
submersible with submarine power
connections.

ORPC’s Beta Permanent Magnet Generator Undergoing Testing at CPI

Power Transmission
► The generator will produce 3 – phase AC power, currently at up to 600V but future
iterations may utilize higher voltages.
►The electricity will be stepped up to 13.5kV DC Power through underwater power
electronics
►This will be transmit to shore where the power will be conditioned at the shore station
to grid compatible AC Power typical voltages will be 34.5kV 3 Phase AC

Key features:
► Use of Medium Voltage Direct Current (MVDC) for Submarine Transmission will allow for
reduced cable size and fewer conductors
► This will mean greater efficiency reduced cost, and reduced embedded energy in the
power transmission infrastructure
►DC current has very low electrical fields associated with it, while magnetic fields (B
fields) are somewhat stronger than similarly sized AC transmission lines. These B fields
diminish rapidly from the cable, would be roughly 40 micro Teslas at the cable surface in a
IMW cable, already below the background B-field of the earth and diminish to one tenth of
that within a meter
 ORPC’s bottom attachment systems
 ORPC will begin initial installations with gravity based foundations utilized in
TidGenTM and RivGenTM systems. Larger Tidal and Ocean Current projects will de
further developed with the compliantly moored OCGenTM system, currently under
development. OCGen™ Power System
Floating OCGen™ Modules (stacked
TGUs) for deep tidal and offshore
ocean current applications
TidGen™ Power System
Bottom mounted TGU for
shallow tidal applications RivGen™ Power System
Bottom mounted TGU for
remote river applications

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 ORPC’s Beta Turbine Generator Unit (TGU)
Weight: 13 tons
Design capacity:
60 kilowatts

14 feet
Steel and tall
composite TGU
support frame

Underwater Permanent
Magnet Generator
ADCF Turbine

Visual Comparison – TGU & 6’ Tall Human

 The Energy Tide 2
 Barge Facts:
 60’ long x 24’ wide with 6’ hull side

 Displacement capacity of 75 tons

 Built by Morrison Manufacturing (Perry, ME)

 Barge is leased from Eastport Port Authority

 Beta TGU deployed 21’ below water (TGU center)

 Variable voltage, variable frequency electrical
 output converted into grid-compatible power
 Includes state-of-the-art environmental monitoring
 equipment (Didson, Simrad, etc.)
 System operations monitored using 4 underwater
 cameras (2 color, 2 black & white)
 Operational parameters monitored & data recorded
 Anchored in Cobscook Bay using a 4-legged single
 point mooring system

Flow
ORPC’s Beta TGU
and ET2

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Energy Tide 2 at mooring
Beta TGU project monitoring
► ORPC’s is equipped with state of the art monitoring equipment to collect environmental
and performance data for the project and to verify monitoring technologies and
methodoliges for this purpose
Data collection equipment:
► Technical data including power, RPM,
vibration, strain gauges etc for turbine
performance evaluation
► 2 color and 2 B/W video cameras for
monitoring of turbine and aquatic
species interactions
►2 DIDSONs and 2 Simrads for
monitoring of aquatic species
interactions with turbine
►Hydro-acoustic survey of noise source
levels of TGU
►ADV, and flow meters to collect
current velocity data
►Thermal sensors to measure heat
transfer to water
The ET2 control, data acquisition and monitoring room
Beta TGU tubine first rotations (free
spinning approx 30 RPM)
DIDSON imagery of Beta TGU spinning
TidGen™ Device - a closer look
•Tidgen™ TGU will be
rated at 250kW in a 6
knot current
•TidGen™ TGU Will
utilize (4) Beta sized
turbines – 8.5 ft dia. X
18 ft long each
•TidGen™ TGU will be
90’ x 14’ and 30’ above
the seafloor
•TidGen™ Devices and
Bottom frame will weigh
approximately 60 tons
and will be separately
installed
•TidGen™ Device
footprint will consist of
(4) 6’ diameter feet.

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TidGen™ Device - specifications

 250kW in 6kt current

 Voltage Output 480V
 RPM: 0 to 71
 # Foils: 4 per side
 TSR: 1.4
 Solidity: 29%

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OCGen™ Module - a closer look
•OCGenTM Modules will be
attached to the seafloor via a
compliant mooring system with
screw type, gravity based, or
driven anchors.
•OCGenTM Modules will be
comprised of 1 to4 TidGenTM
Type TGU’s each 90’x 14’.
•OCGenTM Modules will utilize
1/10th the weight and amount
of materials for bottom
attachment decreasing cost of
the attachment system, and the
imbedded energy
•OCGenTM Modules will minimize
benthic disturbance with as
little as (4) 2’ diameter
footprints per module

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OCGen™ Module Specifications

 1MW in 6kt current

 Voltage Output 480V
 RPM: 0 to 71
 # Foils: 4 per side
 TSR: 1.4
 Solidity: 29%

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RivGen™ Power System- a closer look
•RivGen™ TGU will be
rated at 30kW in a 6
knot current
•RivGen™ TGU is
designed to fit into a
standard 40x8’x10’
CONEX container
•Power electronics will
integrate RivGen™
Power System into
isolated microgrids
•RivGen™ will be
completely submerged
allowing for potential
year round operation,
and eliminating
viewshed issues

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 Thank you
Questions?

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