Bad waterproofing kept pioneering Maine tidal project off the grid

Bad waterproofing kept pioneering Maine tidal project off the grid

PORTLAND, Maine — In April 2013, the first tidal generator in the Western Hemisphere to connect to the power grid stopped working.

By August, developers knew they could not fix the waterlogged generation unit.

Since then, the pioneering Ocean Renewable Power Co. has kept its tidal generator out of the Gulf of Maine near Eastport. Now ORPC wants to make sure the delays don’t jeopardize its 20-year power contract.

The company said in a recent filing with Maine regulators that it expects to get its new generator online by mid-2019. That’s a longer period offline than its contract with Emera Maine allows. The current agreement otherwise would expire April 21.

Company representatives are asking regulators to amend that contract, allowing the generator to be offline for 90 months instead of 48.

While the generation unit has been out of the water, ORPC President and COO John Ferland said the company has continued to improve components of its technology.

“There’s a bit of adventure to it that you try to structure to the best of your professional ability,” Ferland said in a telephone interview.

In the request, the company detailed challenges not previously reported publicly about its tidal generation project.

After a design flaw took the generator offline in 2013, the company went after the manufacturer who made it. A third-party review found they had a valid warranty claim, ORPC wrote.

But before they could get a new generator, its manufacturer Comprehensive Power Inc. filed for Ch. 7 bankruptcy.

“This left ORPC without access to manufacturing or technical support for the generator design and, since the generator design was unique, without an alternative supplier,” the company wrote.

ORPC began the search for another supplier, which would need to build a replacement. By December 2014, its first effort with Maryland manufacturer RCT Systems had fallen apart.

ORPC moved on to the Norway-based Rolls-Royce Marine. ORPC plans to test the new generator this year.

Meanwhile, ORPC continued work on a smaller river-driven version of its generator. Ferland said work has improved its tidal generation designs, too.

“We have reduced a lot of the numbers of surprises or underperforming components,” Ferland said. “They haven’t all gone away, but our experience level has provided us with greater assurances of success.”

The company plans to deploy the first commercial version of its river generator in 2019, he said.

ORPC is still working toward deployment of a 7.5-megawatt commercial tidal power project northeast of Eastport in Western Passage. The company in July received a preliminary permit from federal regulators to study the area.

Its pilot project site will play a role in that, helping to test different components and designs for its tidal generator.

Its sister company, ORPC Solutions, will help federal researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory study energy potential in Western Passage later this year.

The company also added to its total of federal grants this year, receiving about $5.4 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to improve its tidal generation system.

The University of Maine is also testing some components of its tidal generation system, Ferland said.

Creating social media content that keeps followers engaged

To say social content has become a part of doing business is an understatement. These days, every brand who seeks relevance has a Facebook account and corresponding Twitter feed to deliver continuous content to customers. Unfortunately, social media users "unlike" or stop following the majority of pages they originally engage. How do you avoid this fate? By posting social media content that continuously keeps followers interested.

Only post when you create value

With all the social media clutter, businesses face a tremendous challenge in holding followers' attention. The best way to make sure they are listening is to maintain high content standards. Even if you run a standard schedule for posting on social media accounts — generally a good idea — do not rush content out for consumption. Customers are being bombarded with social materials. Make sure your posts create value for them while retaining relevance for your business.

Defining value for your followers is one of the big challenges of social media marketing. It may be something as simple as making them smile, which always has high value, or something immediately useful, such as giving them tax tips when the annual deadline is coming. Take the time to study analytics so you know what your Facebook fans like, then tailor every post to that audience.

Visualize success

The quickest way to lose followers' interest is to bore them with words. Since they often discover social content on mobile devices during breaks at work or on commutes home from the office, pictures and images are the best tools to gain their attention. Visual content on Facebook draws in 84 percent more click-throughs and 104 percent more comments than mere words, according to KISSmetrics. Furthermore, posts with the fewest number of words receive far more engagement than long-winded posts.

If you are having trouble in the art department, tools to create great visuals for social sites are available, as is help from social media marketers.

Make followers the center of social media content

Another common mistake business owners make on social media is forgetting that followers should be the center of attention. Running contests involving user photos accompanied by hashtags is a surefire way to engage customers and get them posting on your social pages. Asking followers an interesting question also encourages responses and generates buzz around your business accounts.

KISSmetrics noted that questions receive 100 percent more engagement than non-question posts on Facebook. People love to express their individuality and be heard online, so ask questions relevant to your business. For example, a florist might ask which flowers followers prefer in the summer, while an event planner might create a poll about users' favorite songs for outdoor fun. Tailor your questions to a particular season and try to respond to every comment so your followers see that you appreciate their passion.

Be unique at all costs

Fans and followers allow your social media content to reach them because you originally created standout value. They will continue the relationship if you honor that promise by continuing to offer unique content. Whatever you can do to separate yourself from the pack online, do so at all costs.

To get started, recall the strategy you used to attract followers and fans in the first place. If it was an offer for a product, consider launching a follow-up promotion. If funny posts or attractive visuals caught your audience's eye, continue to push the envelope and remind them you are the only one who can provide this content. Whatever you do, avoid posting content that makes you easy to dismiss; social accounts are so cluttered your followers won't think twice.

How to design a scalable marketing plan

When your business begins gaining momentum, you will need a way to expand the scope of operations without impacting productivity. Expansion involves taking on new employees as well as adding space and equipment to accommodate the larger scale of operations.

Your business's marketing effort will need its own expansion, too, which will require putting a scalable marketing plan in place. Here are some suggestions to set your business up for success on any level when you launch your earliest marketing efforts.

Identifying areas requiring scalability. Entrepreneurs ought to consider scalability in every aspect of a business. After all, the goal is to create a business model that will not be sidetracked by progress. In marketing efforts, search engine optimization (SEO) is essential to any well-run business, as is management of web content, social media, and email promotions. Such Internet-based channels are the principal means through which customers discover and engage with businesses these days.

Finding a scalable approach to marketing also involves finding ways to outsource jobs and increase their regularity as your marketing budget grows. To make this leap without hiring full-time employees, you can use freelance providers such as Vionic — which is available through UPS Small Business Services. In general, there is part-time help whenever you need it.

The nuts and bolts of a scalable marketing plan

When considering scalability, entrepreneurs must think of an increase in target audience, in the wealth of data on the table, in the number of people handling marketing efforts for the company, and, eventually, the number of people involved in company ownership. The blueprint of a scalable marketing effort will include these core elements:

Seeing the potential audience for your business: Even if your clientele resides in a small geographic area, initially, it can still grow to encompass entire regions of the country — if not the whole nation. Search marketing efforts should have a blueprint that is scalable to an audience of any size. Other considerations may apply if you choose to market your products and services to overseas customers.
Grappling with the data market analytics provide: To create effective marketing plans, you will need to identify what is working and what is not. This process involves analyzing data to see which Facebook posts are attracting engagement, which landing pages are leading to sales, and other quantifiable aspects of your business. The secret to properly managing this data is establishing an effective system before the volume of data multiplies.
Paying for services as your budget allows: Apart from the techniques you choose to employ in marketing efforts, you will need to consider budgeting and staffing. It is unlikely you will have the means to hire a marketing team full-time while your business is in its early stages. Outsourcing the work to professionals specializing in contract projects will offer you flexibility as your company grows.

Delegating is crucial

Whether you are outsourcing social media marketing, leaving advertising in a creative agency's hands, or directing a tech-savvy employee to handle SEO efforts, putting a scalable marketing plan into action requires a willingness to delegate responsibilities in your business. This will allow you to remain focused on the bigger picture while your trusted employees manage what may ultimately become a time-consuming aspect of the company.

Expanding your company is good news no matter when it happens, and you should consider marketing concerns a top priority before and after launch.

The story behind good social content

As it turns out, successful social content marketing has little to do with the technology you use. People seem to forget that when it comes to their marketing messages, the "how" is not nearly as important as the "what". In the end, it's all about the stories you tell.

The big brains at the Harvard Business Review (HBR) reduced expressed this in a single, simple concept: "The most successful storytellers often focus listeners' minds on a single important idea, and they take no longer than a 30-second Super Bowl spot to forge an emotional connection."

Case in point: Budweiser ads with dogs and Clydesdale horses have been selected as the best Super Bowl ads for the past three years based on audience response. But what's interesting is that those spots don't really focus on beer drinking. They do, however, connect with people's hearts.

Granted, this example is a television advertisement seen by tens of millions around the world, but the principle applies whenever, wherever, and however you connect with your customer market. And you have your choice of free social media platforms to make that connection -- blogs, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, to name a few – but you need to be sure you're telling a story that resonates with your customers.

So ask yourself, does your business connect with customers' emotions? You don't have to be a Hemingway or even have a journalism degree in order to tell a good story. All you have to do is use your own words to tell personal anecdotes about your interactions and the relationships you have with your customers. Share how your services remove daily annoyances from customers' lives, leaving them free to tackle more demanding concerns or just enjoy life more. Furthermore, the story you tell doesn't have to be monumental in size to be meaningful, but it should relate a personal triumph for an individual in need and indicate how your business provided the perfect solution.

The HBR article ends with this observation: "Data can persuade people, but it does not inspire them to act." Let that serve as your cue to start spinning tales, even they are extremely brief. You could even fit it in a single tweet with room to spare: