CASTINE – Maine Maritime Academy and its industry partners engaged in exploring the possibility of establishing a Tidal Energy Device Evaluation Center will host an open forum 7-9 p.m. Wednesday, April 30, in the Harborview Room, Harold Alfond Student Center, Maine Maritime Academy. The goal of the forum is to seek and incorporate community input into the planning process.

The forum, convened by state Sen. Dennis Damon, will provide an overview of the proposed project. An extensive question-and-answer period will be held to allow the participation of all people attending.

The goal of the meeting is to identify community concerns and interest, and to establish a format for dialogue.

The meeting will be led by Ron Beard, coordinator of Maine Solutions, a program of University of Maine Cooperative Extension.

Maine Maritime Academy is the host institution of the Tidal Energy Device Evaluation Center, a consortium between MMA and Cianbro, Marinus Power and OceanWorks International.

In October 2007 MMA received a preliminary permit from the Federal Energy Regulation Commission to evaluate several sites on the Bagaduce River identified by the Electric Power Research Institute as suitable for tidal energy generation.

Pending the results of the exploratory phase of the permitting process, the cooperative group intends to provide a Tidal Energy Device Evaluation Center to economically and efficiently test and evaluate a variety of tidal energy devices currently under development around the world.

The proposed center also would provide educational and research opportunities for students and faculty of the college, and potentially generate electricity from a locally available, renewable and clean energy source.

Visit http://tedec.mma.edu/.