According to the Associated Press (via the Kodiak Daily Mirror), Ocean Renewable Power Co. has announced that the proprietary, 60-kilowatt, underwater power turbine that it installed off the coast of Maine is a success and will be connected to the power grid by 2011. The turbine in operation now (so far the largest in U.S. operation) has met or exceeded testing specifications, but is just a beta model; the company plans to refine its design and install a larger, 150-kilowatt turbine by the end of next year. Eventually, the company wants to install an array of the units that could produce as much as 100 megawatts. Read much more, here.

Incidentally, the most powerful tidal power generator ever built was unveiled in Scotland this month. The AK-1000, which has a different design than the Maine turbines, is expected to produce 1 megawatt of electricity when it's installed between Orkney and Scotland's mainland. Read more about it from Electronics Weekly, here.