AUGUSTA, Maine — Officials on Tuesday identified locations of three offshore wind-power test sites that could unlock the door to huge reserves of energy equivalent to more than 100 nuclear plants in the nation's most oil-dependent state.
The sites will be near Boon Island off York in southern Maine, near Damariscove Island south of Boothbay Harbor, and south of Monhegan Island off Port Clyde, Gov. John Baldacci's administration announced. The University of Maine, which has received an $8 million federal grant for offshore wind power studies, will develop the Monhegan site.
Maine already leads New England in development of land-based wind power with three major wind farms in operation and more on the way. The state is now looking to harness abundant winds beyond its long, jagged coastline to help meet energy needs for the region.
"This is where the future lies," Baldacci said during a news conference to announce the sites. "We want to become an energy generating center."
State officials also see an opportunity in nurturing industries that would produce components of the deep-sea structures, such as blades and generators churned by constant Gulf of Maine gusts.
Full-scale development of wind-related industries could create 15,000 jobs in Maine, said Habib Dagher, director of UMaine's Advanced Structures and Composites Center who has been at the forefront of the state's offshore wind research.
Within 50 miles of its coast, Maine has potential wind energy of 149 gigawatts, roughly the equivalent power of 149 nuclear plants, Dagher said. The state's goal is to have enough offshore turbines to produce 5 gigawatts of power — about twice Maine's yearly consumption — by 2030, Dagher said.
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