Energy secretary considers UMaine for nat'l wind research center
Sen. Susan Collins today said Energy Secretary Steven Chu will meet this week with Gov. John Baldacci and Habib Dagher, director of the University of Maine's Advanced Engineered Wood Composites Center, to discuss a proposal to establish a National Offshore Wind Research Center at the university.
Collins invited Secretary Chu to meet and discuss renewable energy and energy efficiency projects in Maine, which could serve as "a national model for the green energy economy."
In a letter to Secretary Chu, Collins says Maine is an ideal place for the center since nearly 9% of the U.S. deepwater offshore wind energy is in the Gulf of Maine. She also said Baldacci is prepared to offer legislation to expedite the selection of an offshore wind test site and has proposed a bond package to help jump-start the development of this technology.
The meeting is scheduled for June 5 at the Department of Energy headquarters in Washington, D.C., according to a press release from Collins' office.
"I am convinced that investments in energy independence combined with American determination and ingenuity will enable us to build a stronger economy as we achieve energy security," Collins said in the release.
Collins, ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, invited Dagher to speak at a hearing in July 2008 on the potential of offshore wind power to supply as much as 40% of the nation's energy, calling the Gulf of Maine the "Saudi Arabia of wind." Dagher said at the time that with the proper investment, the technology is only five to seven years away.
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