U.S. ENERGY SECRETARY VISITS UMAINE

U.S. Senator Susan Collins today accompanied Dr. Steven Chu, U.S. Secretary of Energy, on a visit to the University of Maine to learn more about its cutting-edge, deepwater, offshore wind energy research program. Senator Collins invited Secretary Chu to visit the University's Advanced Engineered Wood Composites Center and spent the day showing him the facility, meeting with stakeholders, and talking with Maine energy exhibitors at a technology fair at the lab.

"I believe that deepwater, offshore wind 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 create thousands of much-needed, good-paying "green jobs," said Senator Collins. "I am delighted that Secretary Chu visited the University of Maine and learned more about the 10-year plan that it and the State of Maine have developed for the design, testing, and deployment of floating deepwater wind turbine platforms."

Senator Collins believes deepwater, offshore wind energy is a critical investment in Maine's future. 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.

As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Collins recently requested that a minimum of $20 million be allocated in the Fiscal Year 2011 Energy and Water Appropriations bill specifically for development and testing of deepwater offshore wind technologies.

Already, Senator Collins has successfully advocated for more than $25 million in deepwater, offshore wind research funding in Maine. Following a meeting that Senator Collins requested last year between Dr. Habib Dagher, Professor at the University of Maine, and Secretary Chu in Washington, D.C., the Department of Energy announced an $8 million grant for research at the University. In addition, the final version of the 2010 Energy and Water Appropriations bill included $5 million that she secured for the Maine Offshore Wind Initiative at UMaine. Senator Collins also helped successfully secure $12.4 million in grant funding from the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology that will be used to construct a new Advanced Nanocomposites in Renewable Energy Laboratory at UMaine's Advanced Structures and Composites Center.