Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, announced late Tuesday that her request for the funding was approved by the Subcommittee on Energy and Water, which operates under the Senate Appropriations Committee that Collins is a member of.

“This is a critical step, and it is the result of Sen. Collins’ determination and her commitment to Maine,” Habib Dagher, director of the AEWC Advanced Structures and Composites Center, said in the release.

Collins invited U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu to the UMaine campus in June, where they toured the AEWC laboratory with Dagher, Gov. John Baldacci and U.S. Reps. Chellie Pingree, D-1st District, and Mike Michaud, D-2nd District. Shortly after the visit, Chu pledged $20 million in new money for offshore wind development.

According to the release, additional funding will help researchers “build, deploy and test a full-scale prototype of a 5 megawatt floating wind turbine.”

The State of Maine Ocean Energy Task Force has a goal of producing 5,000 megawatts of power from offshore wind farms by the year 2030, a move they say could attract $20 billion in private capital to Maine.

The full body of the U.S. Senate must now approve the final appropriation.

Robert Ferguson, 47, of Lowell, Mass. was taken into custody early Wednesday morning after police received a tip from an employee of the Days Inn on Odlin Road in Bangor. Ferguson allegedly held up the Bangor Savings Bank branch on Park Street adjacent to the University of Maine campus, saying he was armed.

Ferguson made his first court appearance Wednesday at the U.S. District Court in Bangor, according to the newspaper. U.S. Magistrate Judge Margaret Kravchuk ordered Ferguson be held without bail at the Penobscot County Jail until a bail hearing on Monday. Ferguson’s court-appointed lawyer, Jon Haddow of Bangor, asked that his medication for bipolar disorder be sent to him in jail.

According to the newspaper, the FBI in Boston has dubbed the robbery string in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island the “burly bank robberies,” after the build of the person involved.

The Orono robber was described as being a 6-foot-tall, approximately 250-pound white male from 30 to 40 years old who wore a gray T-shirt, jeans and a dark baseball cap. The “burly bandit” was described by the newspaper “as a white male with short brown hair in his late 40s or early 50s, approximately 6 feet tall and weighing 250 to 300 pounds.”

A bag containing money was recovered from the bus Ferguson earlier drove from Boston to Bangor. Authorities declined to release the amount of money in the bag or the amount taken from the Orono bank.

If convicted of the Orono robbery, Ferguson could face a maximum of 20 years in federal prison. He may also be held responsible for restitution.

The suspect, who said he was armed, is a 6-foot-tall, approximately 250-pound white male from 30 to 40 years old, who wore a gray T-shirt,  jeans and a dark baseball cap. He left the bank with an undisclosed amount of money, The Bangor Daily News reported.

The newspaper reported that the suspect was last seen heading northeast on Park Street toward Old Town by foot. Police believe he could be driving a U-Haul truck.

The university sent a text message alert to students around 3:32 p.m advising them to “seek safe shelter” because the suspect was at large. A follow-up text message was sent just after 5 p.m., telling students the suspect had most likely left the area and it was safe to resume normal campus activities.

The Orono Police Department is asking for information about the robbery. They can be reached at 866-4451.

Check mainecampus.com for updates to this breaking story.