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The Department of Energy selected the University of Maine on Thursday to receive $8 million of stimulus money for the research and development of offshore wind turbines expected to generate as many as five gigawatts of electricity for the state by 2030. An additional $5 million for the project has been passed by Congress as part of the Energy and Water Appropriations Bill and is expected to be approved by President Barack Obama.
The DOE selected the Illinois Institute of Technology and the University of Minnesota to develop land-based wind energy along with UMaine, which will use the money to build three different wind turbines. The department selected the three as part of a competition to determine who should lead the development of wind-based power in the United States. UMaine will help lead a wind energy consortium — which includes 32 Maine companies — to develop Maine’s wind energy infrastructure. The entire development effort involves 38 organizations.
“The Department of Energy has a goal to reach 20 percent electricity from wind in the United States by 2030. In order to reach that goal, one of the things that the Department of Energy did is develop this competition to create a consortium of universities and private companies that would help achieve those goals,” said Habib Dagher, director of the Advance Engineered Wood Composite center.
UMaine will build and test wind turbine prototypes while the companies in the consortium will help construct and assemble the final product. The companies involved in the project — named DeepCwind — include Bath Iron Works, Cianbro Inc. and Bangor Hydro Electric Co., Dagher said he expects as many as 300 students will get involved with the project.
“The goal here is to help develop cost-effective technologies for floating wind turbines that would be placed 20 miles plus beyond the horizon in the gulf of Maine,” Dagher said.
Dagher said he spoke to U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu on June 5 — a meeting Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, help set up — and told him there is almost as much deep-sea wind power off the U.S. coast as the country uses each year.
Chu asked Dagher where he got his information from and Dagher said it was from the DOE. The United States uses 3,500 terawatt hours of electricity each year.
Collins was instrumental in helping to pass the additional $5 million as a grant from the DOE, Dagher said. Congress approved the grant Thursday.
“[Collins] has said that she believes that the University of Maine is leading the way in deep-water offshore wind research,” said Kevin Kelley, communications director for Collins.
“The more energy — specifically clean energy — that we’re able to produce here in Maine and here in the United States will reduce our reliance on foreign oil, which is good for our economy — especially here in the state of Maine where 80 percent of homes use home heating oil for heat in the winter, which is expensive — and also in terms of national security,” Kelley said.
Dagher said Maine has about 130 gigawatts of wind power in deep waters, or water more than 200 feet deep and less than 50 nautical miles from the coast.
“To put that into perspective; a gigawatt is equal to a nuclear power plant,” Dagher said.
If Dagher’s predictions are correct, Maine could profit from more than just new jobs. According to Kelley, Maine could sell extra power to surrounding states, further reducing oil dependence and boosting Maine’s economy.
The DOE expects the project to generate about 15,600 jobs and cost about $1 billion per year during the next 20 years. Dagher said the number of in-state jobs created hinged on the full involvement of Maine’s energy companies.
UMaine plans to institute a masters program some time in the future for renewable energy in the environment.
Dagher said the turbines would be unseen from shore.
“It’s a great day for Maine and a great day for the University of Maine,” Dagher said.
Maine produces 95 percent of New England’s on-shore wind power, according to a press release from Governor John Baldacci’s office. Baldacci has endorsed the DOE’s wind energy plan for Maine.
