SENATE ENERGY COMMITTEE APPROVES SENATOR COLLINS’ BILL TO SUPPORT DEEPWATER, OFFSHORE WIND POWER RESEARCH

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee today approved legislation, authored by Senator Susan Collins, that would require the Secretary of Energy to support research and development of offshore wind technologies at existing university centers, like the University of Maine, as well as encourage the development of others facilities. Senator Collins' bill, the "Offshore Wind Energy Research, Development, Demonstration and Commercial Application Act," was introduced in November 2009. It would advance the Department of Energy's goal of producing 20 percent of our nation's electricity from wind resources by 2030.

"Here in Maine, we pay some of the highest electricity rates in the country. These high prices are not only difficult for residential customers, but they are also an impediment to doing business in our state," said Senator Collins. "I believe that deepwater, offshore wind, out-of-sight of land, has enormous potential to help us meet our nation's electricity needs and to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. But, it also presents an exciting opportunity for the State of Maine to help stabilize high electricity rates and create much-needed, good-paying "green" jobs. I am delighted that the Senate Energy Committee has approved this legislation, and I am hopeful it will be considered by the full Senate very soon."

Estimates are that development of five gigawatts of offshore wind in Maine - enough to power more than 1 million homes for a year -- could attract $20 billion of investment to the state and create more than 15,000 green energy jobs that will be sustained over 30 years.

Senator Collins's legislation would authorize research on:

• the design, demonstration, and deployment of advanced wind turbine foundations and support structures, blades, turbine systems, components, and supporting land- and water-based infrastructure for application in shallow water, transitional depth, and deep water offshore;
• full-scale testing and establishment of regional demonstrations of offshore wind components and systems to validate technology and performance;
• assessments of U.S. offshore wind resources, environmental impacts and benefits, siting and permitting issues, exclusion zones, and transmission needs for inclusion in a publically accessible database;.
• design, demonstration, and deployment of integrated sensors, actuators and advanced materials, such as composite materials;
• advanced blade manufacturing activity, such as automation, materials, and assembly of large-scale components, to stimulate the development of a U.S.-blade manufacturing capacity;
• methods to assess and mitigate the effects of wind energy systems on marine ecosystems and marine industries; and
• other research areas as determined by the Secretary of Energy.

Senator Collins, a member of the powerful Appropriations Committee, successfully secured $5 million in the 2010 Energy and Water Appropriations bill for the Maine Offshore Wind Initiative at the University of Maine. In addition, she supported an $8 million grant that the U.S. Department of Energy recently awarded to UMaine, and a $12.5 million grant from the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

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