Going with the Tide
Franklin D. Roosevelt was in high spirits on July 30, 1936, when he stopped in Eastport to promote the Passamaquoddy project, a sweeping federal plan to harness Cobscook Bay’s massive tidal power. The 32nd president came over from his summer home in Campobello, New Brunswick, to find a cheering crowd of 2,000.
An enduring image of FDR’s visit shows him inspecting a 210-square-foot Quoddy model, complete with working dams and pumps. Fully restored, the model is now displayed at the Quoddy Maritime Museum on Water Street along with literature on dam builder Dexter Cooper, a Campobello neighbor who sold FDR on the project.
President Roosevelt believed the tidal project presented huge possibilities for future power development by the U.S. and Canada. Roosevelt’s zeal, however, couldn’t hide Quoddy’s shortcomings. The huge amount of power yet to be generated had no market within 200 miles of Washington County, and Congress balked at funding a project many viewed as a boondoggle. Funding was slashed, and by World War II, Quoddy was dead.
With interest in Maine’s renewable energy infrastructure, the moribund tidal project, or a cousin, could rise from the dead. Last August, state, local, and federal officials visited Eastport to see the largest ocean tidal energy generator in the nation. They hailed Ocean Renewable Power Company’s (ORPC) generation of energy through the use of Cobscook Bay’s tidal currents. The in-current turbines are being studied for competitive cost and environmental impact. Another potential developer, Tidewalker Associates of Trescott, has a preliminary permit for a project that would harness the area’s powerful tides at Half Moon Cove.
A few vestiges of the 1930s project still stand in Eastport, including Quoddy Village, the engineers’ homes, a causeway—and FDR’s impressive working model.
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