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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 15 F E B R UA R Y 2 4 , 2 0 2 5 E N E R G Y / E N V I RO N M E N T ORPC expects to become profitable in 2026 through sales and leasing of its devices. Making connections ORPC's marketing includes networking at gatherings such as the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference and the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development's Reservation Economic Summit, both well-attended by representatives of rural and remote communities, he notes. "ere's usually a connection with community lead- ers of that community and we get to learn more about what their energy needs are," he says. "Many communi- ties are looking to grow their electricity generation, but they're limited by their diesel infrastructure. We can help them with that growth." Challenges e commercial deployment of wave, tidal and in- river devices is evolving and being demonstrated at more sites around the world each year, says Renewable Energy Alaska Project, an Anchorage nonprofit. Still, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service notes that careful site selection "is critical to minimizing the environmental impacts of hydrokinetic power systems" due to "a limited understanding of the environmen- tal impacts of in-stream, tidal, ocean current or wave hydrokinetic energy production because few of these projects are operational." Davies says ORPC has addressed environmental concerns through its adaptive management program. "Working with local, state and federal officials, ORPC develops ongoing monitoring plans for its project locations," he says. "Every spring, ORPC works with the community of Igiugig as well as university and national lab researchers to monitor the annual migra- tion of adult and smolt sockeye salmon using the latest research technology." Over one hundred million sockeye salmon smolts and over 10 million adults have passed by ORPC's devices with no observed injuries or mortalities, he says. "ere is no evidence of fish injury or mortality based on hundreds of hours of video monitoring as well as visual and acoustic observations," he adds. ORPC's capabilities include collecting, moni- toring and evaluating environmental data for site selection. Suitable sites have high current speeds, adequate water depth and sea or riverbed condi- tions, proximity to a grid connection, and interest on the part of the local community. "Most importantly, marine energy devices must be deployed in such a way that they can coexist with marine life and human activities," the company says. at was important for the Igiugig community. e population engages in a subsistence lifestyle and relies on salmon as a food source. e water system is renowned for its sportfishing. Clean energy and sustainability align with the commu- nity's cultural values. "We knew we'd want to draw power from the river. But we absolutely could not impact our fish because that's our first and foremost mode of survival," AlexAnna Salmon, the village's tribal president, says in a video provided by ORPC. Salmon says ORPC had the right attitude. "eir attitude coming in here was very much, 'is is your home and we're going to respect it,'" she says. "ey worked with our engineers, barge captains and energy experts. I attribute that to the success of the project." 'Hydropower 2.0' Hydropower and the kinetic movement of flowing water were identified by the new administration as a focus for continued development, alongside fossil fuels, biofuels and nuclear energy. "I view our com- pany as 'hydropower 2.0,'" says Davies. He continues, "For communities with river and tidal resources, we believe we can provide a low-cost hydropower solution for their energy needs. Diesel fuel is expensive to transport and highly pollutive, and for many communities solar and wind projects are just not economic either due to the unpredict- ability of these resources or the expense of the large- sized battery that these projects require. e likely termination of many subsidy programs will make even fewer of these projects economic." L a u r i e S c h r e i b e r , M a i n e b i z s e n i o r w r i t e r , c a n b e r e a c h e d a t l s c h r e i b e r @ m a i n e b i z . b i z Our focus since 2020 has been toward commercialization. — Stuart Davies ORPC In this photo from 2023, mechanical engineer Benjamin Winn is with a large testing tank at the ORPC facility at TechPlace in Brunswick. Stuart Davies, CEO of ORPC, says its river- and tidal-driven power generation systems have received market outreach from 70 countries. F I L E P H O T O / F R E D F I E L D P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y O F O R P C F O C U S

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