After reading in the Maine Sunday Telegram (“Business week in review: Rail deliveries delayed, and lots of development news,” March 1) that the Public Utilities Commission is to reconsider deals with wind-power companies, I was very disappointed.

Wind power development will have to be subsidized by taxpayers and ratepayers for decades. I do not want to hand down these burdens to my children and grandchildren. With so much ocean along the coast of Maine, and all the tidal bays and inlets, why has there not been more investigation of and support for tidal power in our state? The Maine coastline is approximately 3,478 miles, and our six major rivers total approximately 1,065 miles.

Tides have been rising and ebbing since the Earth’s oceans were created, and our rivers have flowed for many eons also. Their power generation is completely predictable, while wind flow is very unpredictable. Utilizing river and tidal power can be achieved without the dams and spillways we now associate with hydroelectricity.

There is even a Maine company called Ocean Renewable Power, located in Portland, that has already developed tidal and river generators. With the tremendous force that the water can exert, turbines enable the vanes to move more slowly and still turn the generators at the proper speed to create electricity.

Turbines can be placed on the bottom of rivers and oceans, and would not interfere with shipping lanes or harm sea creatures because the slow-moving vanes would allow the fish to swim safely between them.

Tidal turbines are economical to maintain once installed under water, and the electricity output is completely predictable.

Hopefully, some of the members of the PUC and any of the general public who may have an interest in learning more about Tidal and River power, will visit the Ocean Renewable Power Co. website (orpc.co) and see how far they have come in this field.

Fernand LaRochelle

retired mechanical engineer

Westbrook