Floating fish farms are easier to tend when constructed in sheltered waters. But that means that coastal views are disrupted and waste can accumulate despite the motion of waves. So farmers install expensive feed monitoring equipment or tow the pens to new locations- thus burning fuel and increasing cost. In waters off Puerto Rico, researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology test a self-propelled spherical fish cage made by Ocean Farm Technologies...

Captain Paul Wells thought often about the power of ocean currents during his career as a cruise industry executive. After retiring in 2004, he attended the first EnergyOcean conference and approached one of the presenters with a question, "How would I go about starting a company focused on generating electricity from ocean currents?" And the idea for Ocean Renewable Power Company (ORPC) was born...

Examining single-celled ocean organisms and molecular-level biochemical compounds is critical to the mission of Bigelow and the work there would not be possible without the use of powerful microscopes and analytical instruments - tools that have been supported by bond funds and have attracted external funding and new researchers to Maine...

In 2008, the MTI Board of Directors approved a Cluster Enhancement Award of $200,000, matched by $459,000, to support a sustainable bioplastics cluster project to make PLA, a biodegradable plastic from Maine potatoes. Over the next 18 months, the cluster members worked together to demonstrate the feasibility and marketability of producing an environmentally friendly organic plastic from one of the state's traditional crops...

Portugal isn't what you might think of when you think about small businesses in Maine. But that's where Chris Houle and Peter Murray found their largest client in the early days of starting Quantrix, a small desktop software company based in Southern Maine. It opened their eyes to the potential of their product in international markets; six years later and now half of their clients are overseas. "We would never think of ourselves as having just a local market," states Chris Houle, CEO of Quantrix...

At Tex Tech, there is no shortage of ideas. Big ones. Good ones. After all, this is a company that has survived since the late 1800s, adapting and thriving over the years to meet the market. While countless other textile manufacturing companies in New England have closed up shop, Tex Tech has on its century of experience in manufacturing fabrics to develop new ideas, helping the company move forward...