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.

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. The collaborating organizations have evaluated establishing a trade association to exchange information, influence related policies, educate consumers and other companies, and build market awareness for Maine made potato-plastic products...

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 gone back to the drawing board to develop new ideas, helping the company move forward. Nearly a century ago, it was pro baseball uniforms. Today, Tex Tech produces specialty fibers and fabrics - mainly used for security and safety related products - and is the world leading producer of tennis ball felt...

Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences is one of Maine's gems. Internationally recognized by the research community, this non-profit research institution studies oceans, coastal seas, and estuaries to discover the medical, commercial, and other benefits of marine microorganisms.

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...

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. In 2002, Houle co-founded the company with Murray, Chief Technology Officer, and it has grown by leaps and bounds largely because of this very attitude. While the United States is the country with the single most sales, the other 50 percent of Quantrix's sales is entirely international...