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.

Digest of recent tidal energy development news worldwide
by David Hoyle

General Interest

This article provides an overview of recent tidal and wave energy projects worldwide with emphasis on Europe. There is a link to a comprehensive report, Ocean Energy Key Trends and Statistics 2021, which covers ocean energy trends worldwide.
Investment in ocean energy increases 50% in 2021 – Energy

USA

The DOE’s Water Power Technologies Office has selected eight tidal and wave energy projects for funding.
US DOE selects eight marine energy projects for funding support – Offshore Energy

Oscilla’s Triton-C wave energy converter delivers 100 kW of power.
Oscilla’s wave energy converting vessel captures power for use onshore – ControlGlobal.com

The first salt-water deployment in Alaska of Ocean Renewable Power Company’s turbine technology.
A tidal energy project could power machinery at Port MacKenzie – Alaska Public Media

In the DOE’s Waves to Water competition, innovators design small devices to harness wave energy to desalinate seawater. Five devices made it to the DRINK Finale and started their first open-ocean tests.
Innovators compete in Nags Head using waves to turn ocean water into drinking water – The Virginian-Pilot

This coming summer and fall, the public can tour the Van Wyck-Lefferts tide mill in Huntington, Long Island, N.Y. A total of 13 more tours are being offered in 2022. The next tour is Monday, June 13, and the last tour of the season will be October 25.

The Van Wyck-Lefferts mill is the best preserved 18th century U.S. tide-powered grist mill known to remain in its original location. It is also one of only two remaining U.S. tide mills with machinery and millstones intact. The site is maintained by the Van Wyck-Lefferts Tide Mill Sanctuary, Inc., who is continuing its multi-year fundraising and restoration campaign for the mill building and dam.

Tide Mill Institute has received a grant of $3,000 from the Eastern Maine Conservation Initiative (EMCI) to support archaeological work this summer at the Bell mill sites in Edmunds, Washington County, Maine. The work will be done by Independent Archaeological Consulting LLC of Dover, N.H.

This summer, Tide Mill Institute and EMCI will sponsor an archaeological study of the two mill sites on the property to explore these examples of the county’s early milling culture and to develop an inventory record of all previous tide mills in the area.

About 1780, Robert Bell, from St. Andrews Scotland, built a tide mill at a likely spot in western Cobscook Bay.  It operated for some years under his direction and that of his family. That mill ceased operation, and the Bells created a fresh water mill further up the stream. A generation or so later, a freshet tore that mill apart, but by then, some family members had switched their activity to farming and forest products.   Today, those activities have morphed into an active organic farm operated by the seventh, eighth and ninth generations of the Bell family.

There will be several public meetings so the public can view the remains of the mills. Email info@tidemillinstitute.com for more information.