Maine tidal-energy company may be sending power to the grid by this summer

Maine's Public Utilities Commission has set terms for a power-buying contract from Ocean Renewable Power, the Maine company developing tidal-power units near Eastport, at the eastern tip of Maine in the Bay of Fundy. Power could start flowing to the grid from the units by this summer.

It would be the first real tidal power produced in the U.S.

From the Globe story:

Power production will begin modestly, with the first unit producing enough electricity for 20 to 25 homes; the pilot program calls for additional units at sites off both Lubec and Eastport to bring production to 4 megawatts, enough to power up more than 1,000 homes by 2016. All told, the company sees up to 50 megawatts of tidal power potential off Lubec and Eastport, home to one of the world’s best tidal sites, where the tide rises and falls 20 feet twice a day.