Synergy of wind, tides in full sail
6/17/09 | 14 comments
energy

Synergy of wind, tides in full sail


State poised to benefit from coming boom
By Abigail Curtis
BDN Staff

ROCKPORT, Maine — Recession? What recession?

Renewable wind and tidal energy is one sector of the economy that is sailing full speed ahead, and Maine has the resources and level of development to capitalize on the coming boom, experts said Tuesday at the 2009 Energy Ocean Conference at the Samoset Resort.

“This is a revolutionary time for the state,” said Parker Hadlock, project development manager for Cianbro Corp. “We’re wildly excited about it. Maine has all the elements that developers need to build right here.”

It was the first time that the national conference — in its sixth year — has come to Maine, organizers said. More than 450 engineers, designers and others came from Holland, Canada and “dozens of states” to share ideas and information about wind and tidal projects, which is a coup for Maine, said Elaine Scott of the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development. Maine had to compete with other states to host the conference, and she said she was glad the Pine Tree State took the honors.

“It’s a chance for Maine to showcase its strengths,” Scott said. “It’s good energy.”

Over the course of the day, a Canadian official described the path to make the huge potential of tidal energy in Nova Scotia’s Bay of Fundy a near-reality.

Gov. John Baldacci announced a fall trade mission to Spain and Germany which will focus on renewable energy. He also talked about legislation he recently signed into law which will expedite the permitting process for the demonstration and testing of ocean energy technologies in the Gulf of Maine. The governor has appointed an Ocean Energy Task Force that will lead the effort to identify five sites for test projects in the gulf by December.

The director of Portland’s Ocean Renewable Power Co. said that prototype turbine feasibility tests off Eastport are succeeding beyond his expectations.

“We are one of the pioneering firms that is creating a new industry, whether it’s tidal, offshore or wave energy,” said John Ferland.

Even some of Maine’s most venerable engineering firms, such as Old Town’s 129-year-old James W. Sewall Co., have been embracing renewable energy — and the surveying and civil engineering work the sector is providing here, largely for site design for windmill projects.

“It’s become a very large part of our business,” said Patrick Graham, director of project development at the Sewall Co. “As traditional commercial site design dropped off with the recession, the renewable energy sector has picked up that slack completely.”

In addition to the work, Maine needs the energy. In the governor’s opening remarks, he said that 80 percent of homes here heat with oil and the state exports billions of dollars annually to pay for energy. Maine has a goal to cut family energy costs by two-thirds, in part through the use of ocean energy.

“Using the wind, the waves and the tides for heat and transport is promising and will help us achieve these goals,” Baldacci said.

While many of the state’s existing renewable energy projects involve land-based windmills, Beth Nagusky, director of the Office of Innovation & Assistance at the Department of Environmental Protection, said she is “very optimistic” about the role of tidal projects for Maine.

“It’s predictable, and it’s being tested right now,” she said. “We need it all. Tidal may not have the same number of megawatts as offshore wind, but it is distributed all along the coast, and it is every day — whereas wind is more intermittent.”

Habib Dagher, director of the University of Maine’s Advanced Structures & Composites Laboratory, said that offshore wind is an enormous and untapped resource for the state. His lab is working to develop large-scale floating offshore wind platforms and to start up a National Deepwater Offshore Wind Research Center which would test beds off the Maine coast. Dagher’s group earlier this month requested $20 million in federal economic stimulus funds to run the center.

“The technology is here, it’s now,” he said. “The key is adapting technology to the Gulf of Maine. That’s what we’re working on — and we’re very excited.”

acurtis@bangordailynews.net

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Comments
14 comments on this item
On 6/16/09 at 10:59 PM, arrogantdan wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I agree we need all of these projects, but we need to add LNG to the list as well. We can not let Canada control our energy needs, if you dont think so just look at our fuel and gas prices in Calais that Irving oil sets here.

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On 6/17/09 at 4:51 AM, leumas wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I'm fine with the people of Maine making money erecting the bird chopping, eyesores because they will get paid again tearing them down and restoring the trashed out site. Just understand one thing, the only one really getting rich here are the guys selling the pinwheels.

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On 6/17/09 at 8:10 AM, Knightscross wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

None of this energy development will happen. Maine is a anti -business state and there are too many NIMBY's that will say no. They rather import Nuclear produced electricity from Canada.

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On 6/17/09 at 9:28 AM, Alexander_Hunt wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Well I kind of disagree with both leumas and Knightscross. I love windmills (especially the ones that will be on my land) and I think they'll be put in service and do a great job of making money for the already rich and the not rich at all (me). I do understand folks loving the beautiful state we live in but, we all have to make a living too we can live forever on Obama's make believe hand outs that are no hand outs at all.

Don't give up Knightscross! we just need to wade through the regulations and permits. Just about everyone is behind these windmills and other types of energy production. And Maine has the resources! Wood Pellets, wind and tides! Heck we might just catch up with the rest of the country and start making a living here. I hope I hope I hope.

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On 6/17/09 at 11:00 AM, hockeydad99 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Alexander_Hunt: Good luck with that hope thing. I do agree that waiting for Obama to make life easier in Maine is an exercise in futility. But until he can make Maine experience July weather year round, I'm not holding my breath. My family took matters into our own hands. We stuggled for years to make a living in Maine, then the high oil costs of the winter of 07-08 finally drove us out. Life is not worth struggling to live, and as beautiful as Maine is, we still decided to move to a southern climate because living would no longer be as much a struggle. We are no more educated or experienced than we were in Maine, yet, we make more money, and have fewer bills (partly thanks to lower taxes) in the south. More and more people in Maine are making this choice, as evidenced by an ever-decreasing polulation. It will happen real quick, too, when (not if, when) oil goes back up into the $4-$5 per gallon range. As the economy recovers, oil prices will rise. It is already happening, and no one has noticed yet. In order to get people to want to live and work in Maine, you have to give them incentives that will help offset the significant energy costs Mainers incur to get through the brutal winters. The state government needs to wake up and finally make changes to policy that invite businesses in, not drive them out.

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On 6/17/09 at 11:23 AM, David889327 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

What's so bad about Canadian nuclear power? Do people think something as complicated and expensive as offshore windmills will be locally owned? I would seriously doubt it. I'd be a little more optimistic about all this "green initiative" if it wasn't being so hyped, if you know what I mean. Natural-born hucksters can instinctively see huge opportunities here, and will gladly help with promotion.

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On 6/17/09 at 2:23 PM, user5225 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

...It won't be long before the so called friends of the lakes and etc start posting their lies all over this page.

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On 6/17/09 at 2:42 PM, fmrmti wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

You can kill these windmills TODAY if you will support nuclear power.

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On 6/17/09 at 4:09 PM, user5225 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

FMRMTI...in energy you don't want to kill anything. It would be wise to diversify; you don't won't to depend on one type of power source for all of your energy needs. If everyone had your attitude could you imagine the type of Nuclear filled toxic waste world we would all be living in, not to mention how expensive your electric bill would be (Nuclear is by far the most expensive power to build and to maintain, Bangor Hydro won't be paying the difference people you will). Gosh people really do complain about everything: pollution, wind turbines, nuclear, gas, cost of electricity, global warming. And everyone is really quick to criticize others while throwing out really silly countermeasures. Even I am complaining about people complaining now. The reality is energy has been an issue for decades in the United States. We are going to have to make sacrifices and pay for it now...or take the alternative and go without electricity (which is interesting that no one ever mentions it, are we that dependent now).

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On 6/17/09 at 4:24 PM, fmrmti wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

User: You miss the point. I want wind, and water, and solar and anything that provides inexpensive power. Nuclear needs to be PART of the discussion, not just the "too dangerous, too bleak, can't be stored, so you-all give up your cars and stop killing the planet" answer I hear from the environmentalists. You're right--no one says go without electricty, and that's not the world I want to live in, either, but they do say I should give up my car while they don't give up theirs.

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On 6/17/09 at 4:30 PM, user5225 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Well than FMRMTI you be happy to see several new nuclear sites popping up around the country...in about 10 - 20 years. That is how long it takes to go through regulations and building permits for Nuclear power plant. I apologize for misunderstanding your previous comment.

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On 6/17/09 at 4:54 PM, fmrmti wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

You're right, and it's another hole that we are all in because of our denial about energy That process could be expedited safely, if we chose to do it. By then, perhaps fusion will be available.

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On 6/17/09 at 5:55 PM, Shannon9A wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

This could be great for Maine. The state needs to play an active role in supporting local companies to develop and operate these projects so that the profits don't just flow south once they're erected.

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On 6/18/09 at 9:30 PM, rockstars wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Stetson Mt wind farm has been sold.When it was built there was not room on the New England Grid for it. It has been idling. Brookfield and Indeck power plants both renewable were to be closed to make room for Stetson. Well now there is a rumor that the farm has been sold. Today I saw all the turbine blades turning for the first time.

How did this happen. Iso New England wouldn't pay Indeck for their electricty. So Indeck sold. Meanwhile Iso New England paid for almost 86 million for stand by energy not produced. Since Indeck is First Wind's competitor and First Wind makes stand by energy...looks like a little anti trust stuff going on. The Conn AG is investigating the Iso New England problem

.The NY AG is investigating first wind for anti trust violations among other things. There has been an anti trust lawsuit brought against First Wind.

Our state govt. is trying to Enron Maine. Shut down power plants. Export energy and jack up prices. Fort Fairfield, biomass , reliable 24/7 just like Indek has been sold to a Canadian firm. Wind power is the most unreliable form of energy in existance.

A lot of these wind corporations have ex Enron employees. First Wind especially. You can't teach an old dog new tricks. Flim Flam Man II. ...Wonder if our gov baldaci will have to step down like gov blago in Illinois for pay to play? He is all up in First Wind. Even fixed it so towns have no voice in the siting of the wind farms.

No need to lie about wind farms . The truth is damaging enough. And all the First Winders can join in the chorous NIMBY. ..tree hugger.

Enron boys need some new tunes.

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