Maine’s offshore wind ambitions: Big ideas tempered by setbacks and competition
The planned launch later this year of a second-generation floating wind turbine platform off the Maine coast will mark the latest step in the state’s winding path to developing an offshore wind energy industry. Maine’s formal interest in developing ocean wind energy dates back to 2008, when former Gov. John Baldacci created an Ocean Energy Task Force to devise a strategy. The work began in the midst of a deep recession marked by soaring petroleum prices, in a state with the greatest dependence on heating oil. Baldacci and other advocates saw ocean energy as a tool to free Maine from its imported petroleum addiction. Underscoring the potential, U.S. Sen. and former Maine Gov. Angus King called the Gulf of Maine “the Saudi Arabia of Wind.” Two years later, the Legislature unanimously passed the Ocean Energy Act, which among other things set a target of developing 5,000 megawatt of offshore wind capacity by 2030. Today, it seems that no generation will be in place by that date. But the outlook was brighter 15 years ago. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:44
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