The ocean's tides are a powerful natural phenomenon. Here in Maine, a tidal range of up to 10 feet (3 meters) is not uncommon. In Eastern Maine and in Canada's Bay of Fundy, tidal fluctuations approach 60 feet (18 meters). This mass of moving water represents a large amount of energy that could potentially be harnessed and used to generate electricity on a large scale.  In many places, tidal turbines are the solution to capturing this energy. Operating much like wind turbines, these turbines are placed in tight ocean passages, where the vertical tidal fluctuation is translated into high velocity currents.

Our objective is to design and build a tidal turbine testing bed that will allow us to test the performance of scale model tidal turbines by pulling them though a tow tank. From these test, we intend to generate performance data which, will be made public for the benefit of researchers, manufacturers, politicians, and the general population. We expect that this open data will streamline the tidal turbine industry and encourage a more proactive stance towards harnessing this renewable energy source. We are leading the way by setting the standard.

We invite you to explore the contents of this website. Included is everything we have researched, designed, built, tested, redesigned, rebuild, and retested over the last school year of this project, as well as a link to the detailed, comprehensive, 100 page FINAL REPORT.