Fall River, Mass., January 8, 2008 – Following temporary weather, holiday and startup delays, the company testing a proprietary turbine-generator unit (TGU) designed to harness the energy-producing power of tidal and ocean currents announced today it has resumed testing off the coast of Eastport, Maine.

Early last December, Ocean Renewable Power Company (ORPC) launched “Energy Tide 1,” a barge specially retrofitted to accommodate the TGU and testing assembly, and began a series of preliminary tests to help determine design capabilities, efficiency, and performance of the prototype TGU. After experiencing the worst weather for December in Maine’s history, however, testing could be safely conducted on only a few of the days prior to the end-of-year holidays.

To date, most of the TGU and deployment assembly components have been successfully tested, including basic generator functions, the TGU assembly and frame (TGU configuration), basic instrumentation and barge deployment (mounting, lowering, retrieval) systems. Given the weather limitations and the realities of testing first-of-its-kind equipment, it is likely to take several more weeks to complete the testing of the unit.

“We had hoped that Mother Nature would have cooperated with us a bit more, especially given the environmentally friendly technology that we are developing,” said Chris Sauer, president and CEO of ORPC. “Despite the delays, we remain upbeat about our OCGenTM technology and the progress we’re making toward commercial applications.”

Each TGU consists of two cross-flow turbines that drive a permanent magnet generator on a single shaft. As testing continues, ORPC Maine engineers will make adjustments, gather data, and suggest modifications which will be used to ensure the successful production of future units. One of the unique aspects of the TGU is they can be shop fabricated and shipped to project sites where they can be combined with other modular components and assembled into much larger generation platforms called OCGen™ modules. These modules can be deployed in both tidal and deep water ocean currents. The output from a single OCGen™ module located in a tidal area like ORPC’s Western Passage (ME) site could be enough to power over 200 homes. The very low vertical profile of a TGU also makes it an excellent candidate for run-of-river applications.

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About Ocean Renewable Power Company:
Ocean Renewable Power Company, LLC (ORPC) was founded in 2004 for the purpose of generating reliable, competitive, emission-free electricity from the virtually unlimited energy resources of the oceans. ORPC is developing proprietary modular ocean current generation (OCGen™) technology and incorporating it into environmentally superior, financially successful, ocean and tidal current generation projects. ORPC's principals include professionals with extensive experience in the development and financing of cogeneration, independent power and renewable energy facilities, and in the management of technology development and startup companies. For more information about ORPC, please visit the ORPC website at www.OceanRenewablePower.com.