A conversation: Simmons sees bright future for Midcoast Maine

…Simmons still sees possibilities for the future of Rockland and the Midcoast. Referring to it as a potential “capital of the Silicon Valley for ocean energy,” Simmons predicted that tens of thousands of people will be attracted to the region in the coming decades. He praised Maine’s politicians and government for supporting exploration of ocean wind, tidal and other energy resources and said he believes the U.S. Department of Energy will soon put a research laboratory in the Gulf of Maine. “This wouldn’t happen in Texas,” he said.

Comparing Rockland to Aberdeen in Scotland, Simmons predicted that this burgeoning industry will combine with the high quality of life in the region to eventually provide at least 10,000 “fabulously high-paying jobs” in the Midcoast.

His own Ocean Energy Institute, originally planned for the former MBNA campus in Rockland where Boston Financial Data Services has offices, has a life of its own, he said. While work continues on developing the institute, Simmons said he prefers to wait to “get everything done before we go public.” One of the potential energy sources he said he hopes to explore is liquid ammonia. “If this all works, three years from now you will see the Piper still consuming a surprising amount,” he said of his 35-foot powerboat. “But you won’t see any smoke coming out of the back.”

He said that NH3 is a byproduct of wind energy production, is 35 percent more dense than gasoline and works in existing diesel engines.

The Herald Gazette Reporter