SENATOR COLLINS CALLS FOR CONTINUED FEDERAL SUPPORT OF DEEPWATER OFFSHORE WIND DEVELOPMENT (USA)

Washington, DC – In an effort to expand and diversify American energy resources, improve our environment, reduce our dependence on foreign oil and create thousands of new, clean energy jobs, U.S. Senator Susan Collins is urging Senate Appropriators to allocate federal funding to support the development of deepwater offshore wind technology. The University of Maine and the State of Maine have developed a 10-year plan for the design, testing, and deployment of floating deepwater wind turbine platforms.

Senator Collins wrote to Chairman Byron Dorgan and Ranking Member Robert Bennett of the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee requesting that they allocate a minimum of $20 million in funding in the fiscal year 2011 Energy and Water Appropriations bill, specifically for the development and testing of deepwater offshore wind technologies.

The full text of the letter follows:

Dear Senators Dorgan and Bennett:

As you begin drafting the fiscal year 2011 Energy and Water Appropriations bill, I want to bring to your attention an issue that is of particular importance to the State of Maine and the nation.

The United States needs a balanced and comprehensive national energy policy that addresses our immediate and future energy needs without compromising the health of the environment. The University of Maine and the State of Maine have developed a 10-year plan for the design, testing, and deployment of composite floating wind turbine platforms in the Gulf of Maine. This effort is intended to transform the energy economy by providing a stable, affordable, and renewable source of energy that can reduce American’s dependence on foreign oil, while creating thousands of good-paying jobs. Floating deepwater offshore wind turbine technology could provide up to 50 gigawatts of electricity in the United States by 2030, making the U.S. a world leader in a critical energy technology. This effort could attract up to $200 billion of private capital to the United States and create more than 200,000 jobs. It would also help meet the Department of Energy’s goal to produce 20 percent of our nation’s electricity from wind by 2030.

Unlike its near-shore counterparts, deepwater offshore wind technology does not compete for limited near-shore resources and space with the commercial fishing or tourism industries. Because these turbines float beyond the curvature of the earth, they do not block picturesque views, nor do they affect residential and working island habitats. This technology has the potential to harness far stronger and more consistent winds than near-shore wind. In fact, 61 percent of the country’s off-shore wind resource is found in deepwater. Off the coast of Maine alone there is the equivalent of 40 nuclear power plants (150 gigawatts) in wind energy resource.

Maine’s efforts to develop a viable alternative energy source have garnered the support of the Administration. On October 15, 2009, the Department of Energy awarded an $8 million competitive grant to the University of Maine to support its efforts. Also, on January 8, 2010, the Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology awarded a $12.4 million competitive grant for construction of a new Advanced Nanocomposites Laboratory which will create lighter, more durable turbines and reduce maintenance costs.

The window of opportunity for the United States to be a leader in developing this technology is quickly closing. We must seize the opportunity to lead the way in the development of this critical technology before another country- like China- seizes the opportunity from us. Therefore, I am requesting that you dedicate a minimum of $20 million specifically for the development and testing of deepwater offshore wind technologies in the fiscal year 2011 Energy and Water Appropriations bill. This amount would be within the President’s total budget request of $122.5 million for the Department of Energy’s wind energy research, development, and implementation.

[mappress]

Source: collins.senate, May 20, 2010;