Funding for UMaine’s wind energy research program suspended

A rendering shows a wind turbine mounted on a floating rig.

Rendering/ Courtesy of the University of Maine The University of Maine has designed and developed a floating platform for offshore wind turbines.

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By Tina Fischer

Funding for cutting-edge offshore wind research at the University of Maine has been paused by the U.S. Department of Energy for vague alleged non-compliance with federal regulations.

The university received notice in a letter sent April 11 that the federal agency was immediately suspending funding that the Advanced Structures and Composites Center was awarded last year through a national competition.

The suspension freezes $4.1 million of the original $12.62 million award and has left the university without a clear explanation for the move.

The brief notice claims the university has failed to “comply with one or more of the National Policy Assurances.” The letter makes no specific allegations, and the university has not received any previous notice of concerns or investigations into the alleged non-compliance.

UMaine spokesperson Samantha Warren explained that National Policy Assurances are commitments by grantees to adhere to specific federal regulations and policies, including those regarding nondiscrimination.

“The University of Maine System maintains it is compliant with all state and federal laws and the conditions of its federal grants and contracts,” Warren stated, “a number of which have been recently terminated or suspended.”

In fact just last month the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it had completed a Title IX compliance review of the university system, stating it “has clearly communicated its compliance.”

Warren said that the university received the suspension notice just hours after a 375-ton concrete floating hull engineered by UMaine researchers had been towed into Mack Point, an industrial port at Searsport, in preparation for a May installation of a floating wind turbine in Penobscot Bay off of Castine.

It was expected to be in the waters off Dyce Head for 18 months, during which Warren said it would generate data to help researchers understand how the technology reduces motion in naturally occurring wind and waves, “with industrial applications that extend well beyond future ocean energy development.”

Warren would not speculate on the UMaine's immediate reaction to the funding freeze or to the state of the wind research, saying only, “The university is currently assessing the federal notice, which states that the suspension period may not exceed 90 calendar days, and the next steps for the project and related Maine contracts and jobs. It will provide additional public comment when its analysis is complete.”

Congressional response

The Trump administration has expressed support of fossil fuels over alternative energy sources, particularly wind, and has cancelled funding for other wind projects.

“The new administration clearly has different energy priorities than the previous administration, and this will have a direct impact on research funding sources," U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said in a statement. "That will mean that if the state government wants to continue some of this work, it will have to provide more of the funding than it has in the past.”

U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine 1st District, said in a statement: “The Department of Energy's decision to suspend critical grants for the University of Maine, including an ocean energy demonstration project already underway, is outrageous and directly undermines the pioneering research essential to Maine's clean energy future and economic growth. This reckless move will sabotage our state's hard-earned position as a leader in offshore wind innovation while also putting dozens of local jobs at risk.

“The timing and selective nature of this suspension strongly suggest political motivation rather than legitimate regulatory concerns," Pingree continued. "The constitutional implications are severe, representing an unprecedented federal intrusion into state education policy through the weaponization of research funding.

“I am working in close coordination with relevant House committees to demand immediate transparency and accountability from the Department of Energy. While we have not yet received confirmation of similar suspensions in other states, we are investigating whether this represents a nationwide assault on clean energy research or targeted retribution against Maine specifically.”