Compiled by David Hoyle, Tide Mill Institute

General Interest

This article provides explanations of the various types of tidal power generation systems along with excellent diagrams.
What is Tidal Energy? Advantages, Disadvantages, and Future Trends | Earth.Org

United States

The first of the following three articles is an Esquire interview on the topic of marine energy with Jennifer Garson and Tim Ramsey of the US Department of Energy’s Water Power Technologies Office. The second and third articles describe current and future WPTO funding for tidal, wave, and river power generation technology developments.

With Marine Power, It’s Not the Size of Your Turbine, It’s the Motion of the Ocean
US DOE awards $12M for marine energy and hydropower projects
US Government invest $35m in tidal energy and river current systems

The first public showing of a new video, “The Tide Mills of the York River,” will take place on Thursday, December 8, at 7 p.m. at the Kittery (Maine) Community Center. This new 60-minute video explores the history of tidal-powered mills in York, Maine, which might have been the site of the first tide mill in Colonial America.

The video features aerial drone footage of tide mill sites along with interviews and presentations by Bud Warren and Deane Rykerson of Tide Mill Institute, Joel Lefever of Old York Historical Society, Emerson “Tad” Baker of Salem State College and Robert Gordon of Yale University. Tide Mill Institute and Kennebunk Savings sponsored the video, which was produced by Jim White of Spruce Creek TV and Deane Rykerson.

The showing is free and open to the public, and a panel discussion will follow. Reserve seats by calling 207-439-3800 in advance.

The production had been previewed in November by those attending the annual Tide Mill Institute Conference in Portland, Maine.

A painting showing a mill building, water wheel and dam somehow wound up in the Tide Mill Institute’s collection of miscellaneous items about ten years ago. It has no identification of any kind, except for an almost unintelligible signature in the lower left that appears to start with the characters H and N.

Two questions about it come immediately to mind:

• Is it a tide mill?
• Does it depict an actual location or is it a scene from the artist’s imagination?

If you can provide any information about this painting, please send email to info@tidemillinstitute.org.

A new video on The Tesla Domain channel of YouTube enthusiastically describes power derived from the tides as a “new wave of clean and renewable energy.” The video offers several impressive animations to explain how tides work and the operation of tidal barrages, tidal stream generators and tidal lagoons, providing an excellent introduction to anyone unfamiliar with these power generation methods.

“This is the Amazing Energy Source That’s More Powerful Than Wind and Solar Together” compares current energy costs for fossil fuel, hydroelectric, and solar generation, showing them roughly equivalent to the cost of energy produced by the La Rance tidal barrage in France. The video balances its optimism with mentions of potential environmental problems of tidal energy generation. It also notes the lack of any tidal generation projects in the U.S.A. while other countries in Europe and Asia are making more meaningful efforts to add tidal power to their mix of energy sources.

This year’s annual Tide Mill Conference will be held Saturday, October 22, in Portland, Maine. Join us in-person or online via Zoom conferencing for “Tide Power: Past and Future.” You’ll learn about ongoing tide mill research and restoration projects in Maine and New York and see the new video “Tide Mills of York, Maine.” The program also features a presentation about the future of tidal power as a renewable energy source.

The conference starts at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (13:30 UTC) at the University of Southern Maine’s Abromson Center and concludes about 12:00 p.m. (16:00 UTC). The attendance fee is only $10 for in-person or online participation.

More information and registration instructions

A team of three archeologists clambered over the ruins of an Edmunds, Maine, tide mill this past weekend to map, measure and photograph the visible remains of the mill and associated docks and piers. Their work will result in a snapshot of the mill site as it is today, and before time, storms and tides cause further destruction of the remaining materials. What’s left of the mill consists mostly of the wooden timbers, planks and rock piles that once were part of a dam and mill buildings.