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Construction of the highly anticipated expansion to the Advanced Engineered Wood Composites Center (AEWC) at the University of Maine is finally underway and on schedule after more than a year of additional planning and delays.
The facility has gone great lengths in order to materialize a state of the art expansion to its existing building. The original completion date of Jan. 2009 has been delayed twice as the project’s leaders worked vigorously to secure funding and contended with natural setbacks in the construction process.
“The facility’s personnel are brilliant at securing grant funds,” said UMaine Executive Director of Real Estate and Planning, Elaine Clark.
Securing these funds may have delayed the project’s completion, according to officials close to the project, but for the right reasons.
The new expansion will cost $22.4 million, said Assistant Director for Boat Building and Composites Robert Lindyberg. It will house equipment required to design, manufacture and test components of the center’s research—most importantly, those being used in deepwater offshore energy projects.
According to Clark, in addition to permit issues resolved in 2009, recent delays were the direct result of multiple sources of funding. Securing these funds was of the utmost concern to the center as more funding would allow them to modify the expansion to include additional equipment. Clark said that over the summer these funds were secured and that this meant a whole new round of designs.
Initially, Clark said the planned structure was to be an 18,500-square-foot steel building with a price tag nowhere close to what the center recently achieved. Now that construction is underway, the expansion will double in size at 37,877-square-feet. It will include a number of impressive features—with the opportunity to add even more if the center chooses to pursue additional funds for the project.
Among other features, the expansion will house a 60-foot tall stand that will hold and test blades to be used in offshore wind turbines. It will also be home to a saltwater tank that will test materials for corrosion and strength, as well as an environmental chamber that will gauge the effects of major temperature changes on certain materials the center is experimenting with.
Lindyberg cited the sources of funding for the new expansion. The Maine Technology Asset Fund gave $5 million, the National Institute of Standards and Technology financed $12.4 million, and $5 million came from a voter-approved bond.
“By consolidating these tasks under one roof, the Offshore Wind Laboratory will be capable of ultimately serving as the driving force behind industry innovation,” he wrote in an e-mail.
As Maine continues to jockey for position in the renewable energy industry, the AEWC is quickly emerging as a leader. Over the summer, U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu visited the facility and, along with other public officials, lauded the facility’s work, attesting to its abilities in helping Maine’s economy grow and its position as a national competitor.
Shortly after the visit, the U.S. Department of Energy pledged $20 million to the development and testing of deepwater offshore energy in Maine, according to the AEWC’s website. Additionally, the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Energy and Water granted a $10 million request made by Sen. Susan Collins for research at the center.
The new expansion will begin to take shape Sept. 28, with the steel arriving for installation. Construction will continue throughout the academic year, and the building is expected to be complete in early April 2011. A new access road will also be constructed between the AEWC building and Rangeley Road to deliver many of the larger components such as the steel and large blades.
“All the changes and delays have been necessary in order for the facility to accommodate the technologies we hoped for,” Clark said. “When it’s finished, it’s going to be an impressive research laboratory. The students who get a chance to work there will be very excited.”
Bangor Daily News