USA: Maine Offshore Wind Projects to Take Step Forward This Spring

The spring is bringing new steps forward for Maine’s offshore wind development, as two test projects progress toward their next phase.

The University of Maine is leading a team that will launch a USD 1 million prototype of its planned Aqua Ventus floating turbine off Castine in May. The prototype, which is one-eighth the size of the planned device, will collect data to help researchers to calculate what a full-size offshore wind farm will need to survive for years in the Gulf of Maine, the Portland Press Herald informs.

Furthermore, Statoil will commence the next testing phase for the Hywind Maine project off Boothbay Harbor.

These projects are already providing opportunities for companies in the state, even though they are in their earliest stages, the news site cites Paul Williamson, director of the Maine Wind & Ocean Energy Initiative as saying.

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Offshore WIND Staff, April 9, 2013; Image: Statoil