The road to innovation can be a long and winding one, but it might be hard to rival the path followed by the Ocean Renewable Power Co., of Portland, Maine, and its RivGen submersible electric power generating system, which is designed for installation on riverbeds and is based upon the company’s tide-driven units for maritime locations.

Developers of a grid-connected tidal energy project in a remote region of southwestern Alaska have received a $2.3-million award from the Dept. of Energy to continue work on a cross-flow river current turbine system.