November 16, 2015 — An experimental offshore wind turbine being developed by a University of Maine-led consortium has won a $3.7 million federal award, Maine’s two U.S. senators will announce Monday, reviving ambitions that the state could be the home of a floating, deep-water wind farm and a new clean-energy industry.
Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King learned last week that the Department of Energy is committing the additional money to the Maine Aqua Ventus project.
Maine Aqua Ventus had been competing with demonstration projects in other states for a $47 million grant, but was passed over last year in favor of ventures in New Jersey, Virginia and Oregon. Instead, Maine got $3 million to continue engineering and design work.
Since then, each of the three winners has been unable to secure a power purchase agreement, and each has had trouble with cost and/or regulatory issues. Last week, the Energy Department told King and Collins that those projects would receive extensions until May, while Aqua Ventus would get $3.7 million to help overcome remaining barriers to successful development of a pilot wind farm off Monhegan.