Maine's clean energy potential touted at Portland talk
Photo/Robert M. Cook
Former Gov. Angus King speaks about Maine's clean energy opportunities at a recent event in Portland
David Sandalow realized he was in pretty good company when he arrived at the Cumberland Club in Portland last Thursday to talk about clean energy.
Sandalow serves as the assistant secretary for policy and international affairs at the U.S. Department of Energy. He was the featured guest at the Business Forward event that brings business leaders together to build support for policy initiatives that will improve economic competitiveness.
The national coalition's founding members include such corporate giants as AT&T, Ford, Hilton Hotels, HP, IBM, Lockheed Martin, Microsoft, Pfizer, Qualcomm, Time Warner and Visa.
Several times Sandalow told the more than 30 business leaders at the Cumberland Club that Washington recognizes Maine as one of the country's forerunners in the clean energy revolution.
"Maine has the potential to be the real leader in the clean energy economy," Sandalow said.
Sandalow said Maine's supportive political leadership, its desire to create a $25 billion offshore wind farm, extensive research at the University of Maine in Orono of offshore wind and composites, the state's vast biomass products in the North Woods and the state's potential tidal power and hydro-electric power make the Pine Tree State well-positioned to be a leader.
Sandalow noted that Gov. John Baldacci was one of 11 governors that met with President Obama at the White House on Wednesday to discuss clean energy. Upon his return to Maine, Baldacci announced Maine would receive $150 million in biomass subsidies for farmers and woodland owners.
When asked if he would like other states look to Maine to if they want guidance on how to pursue clean energy, Sandalow replied, "I hope so."
Former Maine Gov. Angus King and Dr. Habib Dagher, director of the University of Maine's Advanced Structures and Composites Center, also expressed great optimism about Maine's clean energy future.
Dagher, who has led research efforts to create the state's first floating wind turbine that would sit upon a composite dock, said the proposed offshore wind farm would generate more than $20 billion in private investment and could create up to 15,000 jobs if all the wind turbine and transmission components were manufactured and maintained by Maine residents.
"This is the biggest job creation opportunity the state of Maine has in the next 30 to 40 years," he said.
Dagher told business leaders the state hopes to have its first floating 100-kilowatt wind turbine in 2011, followed by a 5-megawatt wind turbine in 2013 that will culminate in the state first floating wind farm by 2015.
"Maine is on the move, Governor," said Dagher to former Gov. King, who supported the idea of clean energy more than a decade ago when he took up residence in the Blaine House, and campaigned on that slogan.
At his turn at the podium, King said the state's foresight to begin formulating a plan to develop clean energy as part of its power mix was prudent, considering the growing market. The American Wind Energy Association in Washington, D.C., released a fourth quarter report in January that shows the U.S. wind industry installed nearly 10,000 megawatts of new generating capacity in 2009, which is enough to serve more than 2.4 million homes, according to the group.
King said Maine residents received a true wake-up call when gasoline spiked to nearly $4 per gallon and home heating oil prices increased by as much as $4.50 per gallon in 2008. "Suddenly, the people of Maine came face to face with a true energy catastrophe."
When asked if Maine would one day get most of its power from clean energy, King replied, "I think that is a very real possibility."
The state and now the nation is not just thinking about generating clean power for lights and computers, but also to run cars, and heat homes and office buildings, King said. And there's a large market: 87% of the state's power comes from fossil fuels that are not produced by any of the state's natural resources. Fortunately, King said the state and the country still have some time to chart a better clean energy future.
"The recession saved us from the catastrophe of the 2008 rise in gasoline and home heating oil prices," he said. "It did give us a little breathing space."
Andrew Wright, CEO of Hodgdon Yachts in East Boothbay, was one of the business leaders who attended the event. His company is eyeing the possibility of building the composite dock for the state's first floating wind turbine. Hodgdon Yacht's 137-person work force, its recent growth and its strong relationship with UMaine's Advanced Structures and Composites Center all give the company an edge, he says.
He was pleased so many business leaders support the state's goal to become energy independent. "There isn't just one political figure or one business that will make this happen."
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