Monhegan offshore wind postponed

The Rockland, Maine-based Free Press Online reports that the testing of a scaled-down floating deep-water offshore wind turbine off Monhegan Island this summer has been postponed until 2013.

Dockside, Monhegan.

In 2009, the Maine Ocean Energy Task Force selected a site off Monhegan as an offshore wind test site.  At the site about 2 miles south of the island, the University of Maine-led DeepCWind Consortium plans to develop a one-third scale (about 100' tall) floating platform and test turbine.  The consortium has described the Monhegan offshore wind project as a pilot project, designed to test platform and turbine technologies as well as to assess project impacts on the ocean environment.

Pre-development of the Monhegan wind project has been taking place.  The project has faced challenges, including a lawsuit alleging that the Maine Department of Conservation wrongfully granted the project a permit to use the site.  Throughout, the DeepCWind Consortium has targeted project deployment and installation for the summer of 2012.

Now, project proponent Dr. Habib Dagher is quoted as saying that some permits are still pending for the Monhegan site, meaning the project cannot be deployed this summer.  2013 is the new target for project deployment.

June 14, 2010 - Maine roundup: offshore wind, and changes at the PUC

Maine Public Utilities Commission chair Sharon Reishus will be stepping down effective July 12, 2010.  Governor Baldacci will name Commissioner Jack Cashman as Acting Commission Chairman.  In a press release, the Governor said he expects to nominate a new PUC Commissioner to be confirmed by the Legislature during a Special Session to be held later this summer.

Federal Secretary of Energy Steven Chu is visiting Maine today. He is touring the University of Maine's Advanced Structures and Composites Center, where Habib Dagher and company are design and testing floating deep-water wind turbine platforms.  This work will be supported by the $11 million bond Maine voters approved last week.

01/21/10

Today the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources the full committee will receive testimony from U.S. Energy Secretary Chu on the research and development priorities/imperatives needed to meet the medium- and long-term challenges associated with climate change. It's live at 10:00 a.m.

The Bangor Daily News ran an editorial today in support of increased investment in wind energy in Maine. The editorial staff cites the recent federal grant to the University of Maine - $12.4 million from U.S. Department of Commerce for a new offshore wind turbine test lab, the Advanced Nanocomposites in Renewable Energy Laboratory. This, in combination with the $8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to create the Maine Offshore Wind Energy Research Center, will allow Maine to become a leader in offshore wind R&D. Professor Habib Dagher was clearly psyched, and Sen. Collins said the deep-water offshore wind energy industry eventually could bring in 15,000 jobs and $20 billion in investments to Maine -- and the BDN is now on board.

NYT reports that mogul T. Boone Pickens is revising his energy investment strategy, de-emphasizing wind energy, and refocusing natural gas from light passenger vehicles to commercial vehicles like semis and buses. Sounds like his wind love affair was short lived. Will he rekindle that spark?

Wisconsin is struggling with a sweeping new energy bill, including a renewable portfolio standard, tighter emissions standards for vehicles to California's levels, and open the door for new nuclear power development. Wisconsin is dependent on coal, and there is concern that this law would drive a shift toward more costly natural gas -- troubling both manufacturers who purchase power for industrial processes, and the coal industry.

North of the border: Ontario is signing a $6 billion deal with Samsung and Korea Electric Power to build and operate a 2,500 MW wind and solar power generation complex in Ontario. David Butters, president of the Association of Power Producers of Ontario, called the deal "secret" and criticized it for a lack of transparency -- and for undermining the feed-in-tariff program. Apparently Ontario has reserved 500 MW of transmission capacity for the project, which Butters described as
more than half the available transmission (capacity) in southwest Ontario."