Promoting the sustainable development of renewable energy in New England ocean waters.
Eben Franks Will Speak at the MOTN Annual Meeting September 26 at Mass Maritime
MRECo’s Operations Manager, Eben Franks, will give a presentation about the use of the newly installed Bourne Tidal Test Site (BTTS) located in the Cape Cod Canal at the Annual Meeting of the Marine & Oceanographic Technology Network (MOTN) occurring at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy (MMA) on September 26. While designed to accommodate testing of tidal turbines, the BTTS is already being used by oceanographic sensor developers. With ease of access and strong security, the site is well suited for ocean sensor testing, marine materials testing, or testing of basically anything that needs to be observed in a flow in the marine environment. In addition, the site is being prepped for a tidal turbine demonstration project in collaboration with MMA. Register to attend the MOTN Annual meeting at: https://events.motn.org/
BTTS Will be Connected to the Grid
MRECo has received word that $205,000 has been included in the Massachusetts Economic Development Bill (https://malegislature.gov/Laws/SessionLaws/Acts/2018/Chapter228) to put the BTTS on the grid. When the funds are approved and released by the Governor’s office, and permits are approved, work will be done to wire the BTTS structure to shore to enable turbines and devices to receive shore power and to produce power to the grid.
MRECo is in the process of preparing the Draft Pilot License Application which is required by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in order to obtain interconnection to the grid.