Baldacci signs offshore wind development bill
Gov. John Baldacci is scheduled to meet today with Steven Chu, the U.S. Secretary of Energy, to lobby for a federally funded offshore wind power demonstration site in Maine, and the creation of a national center for research and development of offshore wind technology at the University of Maine.
The Washington trip comes on the heels of a bill the governor signed yesterday to streamline Maine's permitting process to set up renewable energy test projects in the Gulf of Maine, according to the Bangor Daily News. Baldacci and the Ocean Energy Task Force want to have five sites identified for test projects by mid-December, part of an effort to position Maine nationally at the forefront of offshore wind development. The federal government is exploring whether to finance an offshore wind project.
The winds in the Gulf of Maine have been identified by some experts as having the potential to generate 100 gigawatts of energy - roughly the equivalent of 10% of the nation's energy needs, according to the paper. The University of Maine has been researching and developing technology suitable for deep-water, offshore wind power for several years.
For more on Maine's pursuit of offshore wind development, read "Gale force" from the Jan. 26, 2009, issue of Mainebiz.
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