MAINE SEES OPPORTUNITY OFFSHORE

Economic development in offshore power touted at closing day of conference
Matt Wickenheiser, June 16, 2011 (Bangor Daily News)

"Gov. Paul LePage’s energy czar [Kenneth Fletcher]…said the administration sees economic development potential from the development of offshore energy…The next step, said Fletcher, was for administration officials to have comprehensive talks with researchers and developers working on Maine’s nascent offshore wind sector to fully understand the opportunities and challenges.

"Development of alternative power shouldn’t come at a cost to ratepayers, Fletcher said, and experts in the field must look at new ways of funding such power. For example, if merchant lines export energy produced in Maine, “tolls” on that energy could be used to offset investment in development…Development of alternative sources of electricity should be viewed as a replacement for oil, Fletcher said. Both supply and costs of oil can be unpredictable, and when they jump, they hurt Mainers both at the gas pumps and in the cost of heating oil. Maine is the most dependent state on heating oil…"

click to enlarge

"Habib Dagher, a University of Maine professor and leader in the DeepCwind Consortium, which is developing the offshore wind sector, said that when gas hits $4 a gallon in Maine, it means $5 billion a year leaves the state. The annual state budget is $3 billion…$243 billion was spent last year in the renewables sector…Maine can develop wind farms 20 miles off the coast to produce green power for the East Coast, where more than 55 million people live, he said. Like the export of potatoes, wood products, paper and lobsters, Maine can export power and prosper from the trade…

"The goal is to bring the cost of offshore wind power to 10 cents per kilowatt hour by 2020, at the grid. That’s the production cost of energy. Currently, power in the state is at roughly 16 cents per kilowatt hour, and half of that is transmission costs, he said…"

click to enlarge

"John Ferland, vice president of project development at Ocean Renewable Power Co. LLC, talked about his company’s tidal power technology, which recently finished beta testing in Cobscook Bay…Cianbro Chairman and CEO Peter Vigue said it was reasonable to think of Maine as New England’s future renewable power provider. The state has the people and companies to make it happen, the proximity to the market and the natural resources…

"…[T]he state can become a leader in making the technology for the industry, Vigue said…As the scale of turbines increases over the next decade, new materials and technology will be needed for blades, superstructure and other parts, he said. They can be developed and tested at UMaine labs…Maine’s expertise in manufacturing, advanced materials and other areas can attract companies here to make equipment for the wind sector…"