ORPC power systems generate clean, renewable electricity by harnessing the energy of the world’s rivers and oceans. Rather than relying on dams, which can be costly and detrimental to marine environments, ORPC power systems are designed around our proprietary Turbine Generator Unit, or TGU. Our TGU works on the same principle as a wind turbine, with rotating foils that power a central permanent magnet generator. But because we install it underwater, and water is more than 800 times denser than air, our TGUs provide significantly more power than wind turbines at relatively low water current speeds. Built primarily with composite materials, they resist corrosion in fresh and salt water alike. As gearless units, they require no lubricants, and emit absolutely nothing into the surrounding water.

At river and ocean energy sites, ORPC installs TGUs in groups, to form complete power systems that convert river and ocean energy into grid-compatible power. Our TGU has a modular design that makes it easy to adapt to the varying needs of different site environments, and we configure it differently depending on where it will be used. To install power systems at small river and shallow tidal sites, we secure arrays of TGUs to the riverbed or seabed using bottom support frames. To use our technology at deeper tidal and deep ocean current sites, we “stack” several TGUs together to form larger, more powerful modules, which we then moor to the sea floor with a deep sea mooring system. Because the modules are buoyant, we can suspend them above the sea floor at a depth that’s safe for both sea vessels above and sea life below.

ORPC’s power systems produce no emissions of any kind and require no fossil fuels to operate, deriving their power solely from the renewable resource of the earth’s rivers and oceans. Since these currents are both regular and completely predictable, the clean, dependable energy generated by ORPC power systems can be scheduled years in advance.