$205,000 grant approved for Bourne Tidal Test Site

Massachusetts Legislature has approved the $205,000 allocated in its Economic Development Bill for the Bourne Tidal Test Site. 

Bourne Tidal Test Site (Photo: MRECo)

Marine Renewable Energy Collaborative (MRECo), the organization in charge of test site development, informed in September that the Bourne Tidal Test Site (BTTS), located in Cape Cod Canal, had been included in the bill for a $205,000 grant that will enable the connection of the site to the power grid.

Once the funds are approved and released by the Governor’s office, along with the approved permits, the work to wire the BTTS structure to shore and enable turbines and devices to receive shore power, and to produce power to the grid, will be conducted, MRECo said in September.

MRECo then said that it was in the process of preparing the draft pilot license application which is required by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in order to obtain interconnection to the grid.

To remind, BTTS was installed in November 2017. The site is suitable for testing of tidal energy components or turbines of up to 3 meters in diameter with maximum output of 100kW.