Ocean Renewable Power Company’s (ORPC) RivGen Power System commercialization project has received the 2016 Outstanding Stewards of America’s Waters (OSAW) Award from the National Hydropower Association (NHA).
The award is part of the Operational Excellence category, which recognizes waterpower projects that add value to the industry through technical contributions, innovation, engineering, upgrades and improvements, or technology breakthroughs for new hydropower or marine hydrokinetic technologies.
The RivGen Power System is a 25 kW self-deploying submersible hydrokinetic system designed to reduce and stabilize the cost of power in remote communities located near rivers and tidal estuaries that currently use diesel fuel for power generation.
As part of ORPC’s 2015 project, the RivGen System has been deployed near Igiugig village, Alaska, supplying one-third of the electrical power needs of the village.
Linda Church Ciocci , Executive Director of NHA, said: “NHA is pleased to present ORPC with the OSAW Award for Operational Excellence – the first marine energy company to receive this distinction. ORPC’s RivGen Power System is working to be a clean, innovative and affordable energy option for communities worldwide. As the marine energy sector moves forward, it is projects like ORPC’s RivGen commercialization project that are leading the way.”
ORPC is a US-based in-river, tidal and deep-water ocean current power generation systems and projects developer.
NHA is a nonprofit national association dedicated to promoting the growth of clean, affordable US hydropower.