Offshore Wind Wire

By Peter Brennan

The Maine Public Utilities Commission issued a request for proposals Wednesday for a deepwater offshore wind pilot project and tidal renewable energy demonstration project. The RFP is the result of a law passed by the state legislature in April that implemented the recommendations of the Governor’s Ocean Energy Task force.

According to the RFP, the offshore wind project must employ “one or more floating wind turbines in the Gulf of Maine no less than 10 nautical miles from shore and at a depth no less than 300 feet. The pilot project must also “connect with Maine’s electrical transmission grid.”

The request is only the first step in Maine’s march toward deepwater wind power — the winning developer must have the ability to eventually turn the pilot farm into a 100 MW floating wind farm.

The emphasis on floating turbines should not surprise anyone familiar with Maine’s offshore wind aspirations.  In June, Maine voters approved the borrowing of $26 million for a variety of energy issues, including $11 million for research on deep water floating turbines.  Additionally, the legislation that begat the RFP was amended in the legislature to focus on deepwater floating turbines to placate fishermen and coastal landowners worried about their view shed.  The University of Maine, under the direction of Habib Dagher, is seen as a world leader in deepwater floating turbine technology.

The “tidal energy demonstration project” must be one that uses tidal action as a source of electric power, and must be proposed for the primary purpose of testing tidal energy generation technology.  Under the terms of the RPF, the Public Utilities Commission can authorize one or more long-term power purchase contracts to cover the 30MW of installed capacity, so long as no more than 5MW comes from the tidal demonstration project.

The number of offshore wind turbines required to generate the remaining 25 MW remains to be seen, but depends largely on the specifications of the winning bidder’s designs.

The RFP keeps Maine ratepayers in mind by stating that no customer class can see their electric rates rise more than $1.45 per MWh as a result of the demonstration project. The deadline for submitting initial proposals is May 1, 2011.