Maine Electric Boat has installed more than a dozen electric propulsion systems on sailboats and powerboats since the company was formed five years ago.
With an eye toward the future, the Biddeford-based company is now taking aim at a new market: commercial work vessels. That sector — lobster boats, aquaculture vessels, boatyard utility boats and the like — is where the company’s growth and the expansion of electric-powered boats in Maine is likely to come from, says CEO Matt Tarpey.
Tarpey, 36, supplied a 40-horsepower engine last year for a utility workboat at an Islesboro boatyard, and is now working with a Portland lobsterman on plans to convert his diesel-powered boat to electric in the coming 18 months or so. He’s not aware of any other Maine lobstermen with electric boats.
