U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm and U.S. Senator Angus King (Maine) visit ORPC headquarters in Portland to learn more about ORPC’s commercial underwater power systems and push for Congress to fully fund climate change response in next federal budget.
ORPC Canada and CIMA+ are honored with the AFG (Association of Consulting Engineers) Quebec International Project Award, for collaborative work with the Village of Igiugig, Alaska.
Installation of a second RivGen device occurs in Igiugig, Alaska. Commissioning of an energy storage system and smart microgrid controls begins. The Weather Channel airs 3-minute segment, “Alaska’s River Power,” by Emmy-award-winning reporter Dave Malkoff, about the Igiugig-RivGen® Project and the building of a RivGen device at Brunswick Landing in Maine.
ORPC Chile is officially formed.
ORPC submits preliminary permit application to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to initiate process towards installing a tidal energy project at East Foreland, Cook Inlet, Alaska. ORPC will collaborate with Homer Electric Association to sell HEA the tidal energy produced.
ORPC is named Innovator of the Year by the Maine International Trade Center.
ORPC and its subsidiary ORPC Ireland partner with European consortium to create new generation of marine renewable energy turbines that increase reliability and performance while reducing manufacturing costs.
RivGen Power System now longest operating current energy converter in U.S.
ORPC CEO testifies at U.S. Senate public hearing on marine energy.
ORPC and City of Eastport sign memorandum of understanding to pursue Eastport Smart Microgrid Project.
ORPC selects Maine company to fabricate second commercial underwater power system.
ORPC releases new video about its Autonomous TGU https://youtu.be/FObv8y_GB_U.
Stuart Davies succeeds Chris Sauer as CEO of ORPC.
ORPC releases new video about Igiugig-RivGen® Project https://youtu.be/GxjELfnX5xc.
ORPC co-founder and CEO, Chris Sauer, announces his retirement from the company.
ORPC is represented at the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP 25 by Chilean NGO, NRGizar, dedicated to the development of community-scale renewable energy, particularly marine renewable energy, in remote regions of southern and central Chile.
ORPC secures commitments for $7.5 million in expansion capital from private investors.
Representatives of the Igiugig Village Council, the U.S. Department of Energy, Senator Lisa Murkowski’s office, the First Alaskans Institute and the Alaska Energy Authority, along with Alaska Governor Dunleavy celebrate the launch of ORPC’s commercial RivGen® Power System in Igiugig, Alaska, with a crowd of over 60 people gathered.
The U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, awards ORPC an SBIR Phase 1 grant for $200,000, to design a grid integration strategy for a tidal energy project for the remote community of False Pass, Alaska.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issues ORPC’s project partner, the Igiugig (Alaska) Village Council, a 10-year pilot project license to construct, operate and maintain the Igiugig Hydrokinetic Project. Igiugig is the first tribal entity in the U.S. to achieve this approval.
ORPC announces partnership with Warbird Capital LLC to offer leasing of its RivGen® Power Systems.
Within first month of its launch, ORPC raises over half a million dollars via Netcapital offering www.netcapital.com/companies/orpc .
ORPC launches commercial RivGen® product in event featuring keynote address by Maine Governor Janet Mills, attracting over 150 people and resulting in news coverage by more than 10 media outlets.
ORPC begins building its next-generation RivGen® Power System at Brunswick Landing, Maine, U.S.
On behalf of the Village of Igiugig, Alaska, ORPC submits preliminary license application to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for RivGen® Power System project in the Kvichak River.
DNV GL issues ORPC statement of feasibility for technology qualification for second-generation TidGen® Power System.
U.S. Dept. of Energy awards the Igiugig Village Council $2.3 million for completion of “Next Generation Marine Energy Systems: Durability and Survivability,” which utilizes ORPC’s RivGen® Power System. ORPC is managing the project for Igiugig.
ORPC has spent over $36 million on goods and services in 14 of Maine's 16 counties since 2007.
Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland awards ORPC Ireland €222,977 for Advanced Composite Design for Commercial ORPC RivGen® Device.
U.S. Dept. of Energy selects ORPC’s proposal, “Design of high-deflection foils for MHK applications, for award negotiations,” a $636,699 funding request with a total project cost $796,040.
U.S. Dept. of Energy selects Village of Igiugig, Alaska, in partnership with ORPC, to receive $2.3 million to further design, construct and test RivGen® Power System and incorporate improved IO&M strategies.
Alexandre Paris becomes ORPC Canada’s founding President & CEO to expand ORPC’s marine renewable energy business into Canada, providing solutions to lower the cost and increase the availability of electricity in remote communities in northern Quebec’s Nunavik region and elsewhere, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and bringing much-needed local economic benefits.
Cian Marnagh and Nathan Johnson are promoted, and named to ORPC’s management team. Cian is now Vice President of Engineering and Program Management, and Nathan’s title is now Vice President of Development.
ORPC Canada receives $190,906 CAD from Polar Knowledge, Canada’s arctic research agency, for laboratory analysis of frazil ice on ORPC’s turbine design.
Instituting a new management approach to advance company growth and capitalize on new opportunities, Chris Sauer transitions to Co-founder & CEO and John Ferland is promoted to President & COO of Ocean Renewable Power Company (ORPC).
3.2 million euro, ORPC Ireland-led project gets underway.
U.S. Energy Department selects ORPC for $5.35 million grant for Advanced TidGen® Power System Project
ORPC receives Federal Energy Regulatory Commission preliminary permit for Western Passage, Maine.
Horizon 2020, the European Union's Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, selects ORPC Ireland to proceed to grant agreement stage for a major project.
The U.S. Department of Energy awards ORPC $150,000 for Low Mass, Modular, River Hydrokinetic System Project.
The National Hydropower Association awards ORPC its 2016 Outstanding Stewards of America's Waters Award for Operational Excellence (OSAW). ORPC is the first marine renewable energy company to receive the award.
The U.S. Department of Energy selects Igiugig, Alaska, to receive up to $1,540,341 to further advance the design and operation of ORPC's RivGen® Power System, which ORPC successfully demonstrated in the Kvichak River at Igiugig in 2014 and 2015, displacing the community's diesel fuel use by one-third. To initiate the project, the Energy Department approves phase one funds of $392,500.
The U.S. Department of Energy's ARPA-E Program awards ORPC $2,248,223 for Deployment and Retrieval System for Cross-flow Hydrokinetic Turbines.
ORPC announces the formation of ORPC Canada, a wholly-owned subsidiary of ORPC's based in Montreal, Quebec.
ORPC’s RivGen® Power System delivers power to remote Alaskan village grid, becoming the first and only company in the world to have built, operated and delivered power to a utility grid from a hydrokinetic tidal project, and to a local microgrid from a hydrokinetic river project.
ORPC Ireland, LLC, is established.
ORPC concludes its OCGen® Module Mooring Project at its federally licensed site in Maine. This first-of-its-kind project proved the stability of the prototype OCGen® device in reversing tidal currents and confirmed the loading and performance of its innovative tensioned mooring system.
ORPC concludes its highly successful RivGen® Power System demonstration project in the Kvichak River, 275 miles southwest of Anchorage, Alaska, delivering power to shore at the remote village of Igiugig.
ORPC has spent over $25 million on goods and services in 13 of Maine's 16 counties since 2007.
ORPC successfully completes tow testing of its RivGen® turbine generator unit (TGU) in Eastport, Maine, in collaboration with Maine Maritime Academy and the Eastport Port Authority. Results indicate the re-designed proprietary river power system has improved reliability and durability and is now ready for its first commercial-scale demonstration planned for Alaska.
ORPC submits second-ever annual environmental report for a commercial, grid-connected tidal energy project in the U.S. and North America. Again, results indicate no observed adverse interaction with the marine environment.
ORPC Solutions is launched to offer a full range of project development, regulatory and strategic management services to colleague companies in the ocean and river energy industries, internationally.
PBS NewsHour broadcasts, “Can a Small Maine Town’s Innovation Turn the Tides on Sustainable Energy?” about ORPC’s Cobscook Bay Tidal Energy Project and its host community, Eastport, Maine.
ORPC is selected by the U.S. Department of Energy for Advanced Controls and Next-Gen Power Take-Off Projects awards for a combined total of nearly $5 million.
Popular Science magazine features a full-color illustration of ORPC's TidGen® Power System on the cover of its June 2013 issue and devotes two full-color pages inside to the TidGen® System. The theme of the June issue is "American Energy Independence: Five clean technologies that will set us free".
ORPC is awarded a U.S. Small Business Administration Tibbetts Award at a Washington, D.C., ceremony. Tibbetts Awards "are presented annually to those who are beacons of promise and models of excellence in high technology."
ORPC submits first annual environmental report for commercial, grid-connected tidal energy project in the U.S. and North America. Results indicate no observed adverse interaction with the marine environment.
The Associated General Contractors of America presents CPM Constructors with a Build America Award for work on ORPC's Maine Tidal Energy Project.
ORPC is named to Fast Company's Top 10 List of the World's Most Innovative Energy Companies.
The first longterm power purchase agreement for marine renewable power in the U.S. is executed between ORPC and Bangor Hydro Electric Company (now Emera Maine) for the Maine Tidal Energy Project.
Sierra Club of Maine honors ORPC with 2012 Business Leader for the Environment award.
New England Clean Energy Council honors ORPC with Emerging Company of the Year Award.
Bangor Hydro Electric Company (now Emera Maine) verifies that electricity is being delivered to their power grid from ORPC's Cobscook Bay Project. This is the first power from any ocean energy project including offshore wind, wave and tidal to be delivered to an electric utility grid in the U.S., and it is the only ocean energy project, other than one using a dam, that delivers power to a utility grid anywhere in the Americas.
ORPC completes installation of the first TidGen® Power System at the Cobscook Bay project site, including the on-shore station on Seward Neck, Lubec.
The New York Times publishes, “The Search For Energy Takes a Turn Underwater,” about ORPC’s TidGen® Power System Project in Maine.
ORPC dedicates the first TidGen® turbine generator unit (TGU) at an Eastport, Maine, ceremony attended by U.S. Department of Energy and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission officials, national press, over 200 Lubec and Eastport community members and industry colleagues from around the world.
The Maine Public Utilities Commission approves the terms of the first longterm power purchase agreements for marine renewable power in the U.S. for ORPC's Maine Tidal Energy Project.
ORPC receives a General Permit for the Cobscook Bay Tidal Energy Project from the State of Maine, the first such permit issued for tidal energy.
ORPC receives a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission pilot project license for the Cobscook Bay Tidal Energy Project
The Federal Regulatory Commission issues its environmental assessment for the Cobscook Bay Tidal Energy Project concluding with a finding of no significant impact (FONSI).
ORPC officially retires its beta turbine generator unit (TGU).
Final pilot project license application submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for first grid-connected TidGen® Power System.
ORPC presents letter to Eastport City Council documenting almost $3.4 million spent by ORPC on payroll, contractors, and other goods and services in Maine's Washington County since 2007.
ORPC hosts 300 members of the public and EnergyOcean International 2011 Conference attendees for guided tours of the Energy Tide 2 and the beta TidGen® Power System during a week-long visit to Portland, Maine.
ORPC is named Technology Company of the Year by the Technology Association of Maine.
ORPC announces reaching the milestone of creating or retaining more than 100 jobs statewide in Maine and spending over $8 million on goods and services in 13 of Maine's 16 counties since 2007.
ORPC's Beta TidGen® Power System Project is completed, meeting or exceeding all design expectations.
In the first-ever use of tidal energy by a federal agency, ORPC completes delivery of tidal power to U.S. Coast Guard Station Eastport, Maine over a 60-day period.
Maine Technology Asset Fund awards ORPC $1,260,000 for our Cobscook Bay Tidal Energy Project.
U.S. Department of Energy awards ORPC $160,000 as sub-recipient of grant to Scientific Solutions, Inc. for development of active acoustic monitoring system.
ORPC wins $10,000,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy for our Cobscook Bay Tidal Energy Project.
U.S. Department of Energy awards ORPC $240,000 for abrasion testing of critical components of marine renewable energy devices performed by the University of Alaska Anchorage.
ORPC's Beta TidGen® Power System, the largest ocean energy device ever installed in U.S. waters, generates electricity at full design capacity through full range of tidal current velocities encountered.
ORPC partners with Scientific Solutions to develop an underwater active acoustic monitoring system for the ocean energy industry.
U.S. Department of Energy awards ORPC $750,000 for refinement of cross flow turbine hydrofoils (STTR Phase II).
Alaska Denali Commission awards ORPC $830,325 for our RivGen® Power System.
U.S. Department of Energy awards ORPC $75,000 as sub-recipient of a grant to the University of Maine, Maine Tidal Power Initiative.
ORPC is named New Technology of the Year by the Technology Association of Maine.
ORPC presents Eastport (Maine) City Council with the news that as of June 2010 the company has spent more than $2 million on payroll, contractors, goods and services in Eastport and Washington County since 2007.
The New York Times publishes a full page story on ORPC on Earth Day authored by their science writer, Henry Fountain.
ORPC launches the Beta TidGen® Power System in Maine, the largest ocean energy device ever deployed in the U.S.
Maine Technology Institute awards ORPC $285,000 for the OCGen® Module Mooring Project.
U.S. Department of Energy awards ORPC $150,000 for refinements of our cross-flow turbine hydrofoils (STTR Phase I).
ORPC unveils the first all-composite water turbines ever manufactured in the U.S.
The U.S. Department of Energy awards ORPC $1,034,534 for designing and testing a mooring system for marine renewable energy devices suspended in the water column in reversing tidal currents (OCGen® Module Mooring Project)
The U.S. Department of Energy awards ORPC $600,000 to use a new combination of monitoring technologies to collect data on patterns of marine mammal distribution in Cook Inlet, Alaska, with special emphasis on the endangered beluga whale.
ORPC wins contract from the U.S. Coast Guard for delivery of tidal energy from the Beta TidGen® Project.
ORPC receives the Company Pioneer Award, and Patrick McGinnis, our Director of Systems Engineering, is awarded the Technology Pioneer Award at the 2009 Energy Ocean Conference in Rockport, Maine.
ORPC forms partnership with a major development company, significantly expanding ORPC's financial, technical and management resources, completing its Series A funding round.
Maine Technology Asset Fund awards ORPC $806,138 for our Beta TidGen® Project.
Maine Technology Institute invests $150,000 in ORPC under their Accelerated Commercialization Fund.
ORPC successfully concludes its yearlong testing program of the prototype turbine generator unit (TGU), having firmly established the technical feasibility of the TGU design.
ORPC hires our first four employees in Eastport, and Portland, Maine.
ORPC completes its angel funding rounds at $5.5 million.
ORPC's prototype turbine generator unit (TGU) becomes the first marine renewable energy device to generate electricity from tidal currents that come from the Bay of Fundy (Cobscook Bay and Western Passage, Maine).
ORPC opens first headquarters office in Portland, Maine.
Technical feasibility of turbine generator unit (TGU) design is proven during the Prototype TGU Demonstration Project in Maine.
Maine Technology Institute awards ORPC $211,200 for our Prototype Turbine Generator Unit (TGU) Demonstration Project.
ORPC launches the Prototype TGU Demonstration Project and commences testing of our prototype TGU aboard our first research vessel, the Energy Tide 1, in Western Passage and Cobscook Bay, Maine, near Eastport.
ORPC opens its first incubator office in Portland, Maine at the Maine Center for Enterprise Development on the campus of the University of Southern Maine.
ORPC opens its first office in Maine in Eastport.
ORPC opens its first office in an incubator for start-up companies at the Advanced Technology & Manufacturing Center of the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth in Fall River, Massachusetts.
Massachusetts Technology Collaborative awards ORPC a $240,000 seed loan for the Prototype Turbine Generator Unit (TGU) Demonstration Project.
ORPC wins $300,000 from the Maine Technology Institute for its Prototype Turbine Generator Unit (TGU) Demonstration Project.
ORPC submits first preliminary permits applications to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for Cobscook Bay, and Western Passage in Maine, and Cook Inlet in Alaska.
ORPC completes cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) with U.S. Navy (NSWC-CD) and turbine generator unit (TGU) design concept is adopted.
Ocean Renewable Power Company (ORPC) is founded in Florida.
Ocean Renewable Power Company (ORPC) is formed.
Initial ocean current technology, resource and market study is initiated.