Exclusive Interview with Governor John Baldacci

With the national focus on building manufacturing jobs in the alternative energy sector what makes Maine more attractive than other states to investors?

“Maine has three major ports, which recently received recovery act funds for improvements. Our three-port strategy connects our ports to railroads, as well as overseas markets by ship. We have a capable productive workforce. We are conducting ground-breaking research in composite wind technology with Dr. Habib Dagher, and his team, at the University of Maine. Bath Iron Works are looking to develop ships to carry the windmills for deployment at sea. Maine industries have built wind power expertise erecting land based wind farms, which generate the most wind power in New England. On top of all that, we have the most offshore wind potential in New England.

“Key to it all is location.

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Maine Fiber Company’s (MFC) Three Ring Binder rural broadband project took a giant step forward with the signing by Governor John Baldacci of LD 1778 on April 5, 2010. The new law clears the way for the 1,100 mile high-capacity, open access fiber network to move ahead.

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All homeowners in Maine are eligible to receive rebates of $1,500 to $3,000 on weatherization projects that reduce energy usage under.

“The Maine Home Performance program is open for business and all homeowners are able to participate. This is an effective program to encourage more Mainers to make improvements to their homes so that their families can stay warm, more secure, safer and economically more secure,” said Governor John Baldacci.

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The U.S. Coast Guard is partnering with The University of Maine Advanced Structures and Composites Center (known as AEWC) to conduct a study to determine the cost savings associated with the development of composite buoys.

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Congresswoman Chellie Pingree announced on January 22, 2010, that $4.8 billion in stimulus funds is available in a second round of grants and loans to expand broadband access in rural areas across the country.

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WASHINGTON, DC –The U.S. Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announced that the University of Maine in Orono will receive a $12.5 million Recovery Act grant to construct the new Advanced Nanocomposites in Renewable Energy Laboratory (ANREL) at the University of Maine’s Advanced Structures and Composites Center. The new laboratory will be the only such facility in the United States to include complete development capabilities for designing, prototyping and testing large structural hybrid composite and nanocomposite components for the deep water offshore wind energy industry.

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Ocean wind energy—

How important is deep ocean wind energy to Maine’s overall renewable energy plans?

“I truly believe that deep ocean wind will be the major resource of domestic renewable energy, for our region. We have a tremendous opportunity before us to export this resource to our region, and met our energy needs.

“Deep-sea ocean wind energy is the future. When I went to Norway and saw their floating wind turbine it stood before us, like the Washington Monument, my immediate reaction was to say, ‘this is the future.’ We have consistently strong winds offshore producing enough energy to power 149 nuclear power plants.

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Maine took another big step in becoming the first state to create offshore wind test and demonstration sites. During a press conference at the Statehouse, government officials and researches announced three sites where offshore wind prototypes will be constructed. The first of which will begin construction late in 2010.

According to Dr. Habib Dagher, director of UMaine’s Advanced Structures and Composites Center, Maine could generate electrical energy from offshore wind equivalent to 149 nuclear power plants. The offshore wind potential of 100 gigawatts is three to four times the current peak demand for all of New England.

That’s a lot of energy, more than enough to power Maine homes and businesses with electrical heat and lights, as well as export it to New England and Canadian markets.

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Impressed, was the look on the countenances of Statoil representatives after they finished their Maine energy infrastructure tour with Bath Iron Works, as the last stop. Seeing how the company makes state-of–the art destroyers for the U.S. government is always impressive.

Instilling confidence that Maine is the right partner to work with in producing wind turbines was a clear objective of Maine’s delegation that hosted the Norwegian company’s visit. Another stop along their tour was the soon-to-be decommissioned Naval Air Station Brunswick.

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Maine has been recognized as a leader in wind-energy development. There are currently 300 megawatts operating or under construction in Maine, with another 450 megawatts of wind in various stages of development throughout the state. Already, Maine is home to 95 percent of the operating onshore wind capacity in New England.

The overall plan is to educate students in Maine in wind technologies, from the development stages, with the composite technology expertise at UMaine, to engineering the turbines. The education received could, upon graduation, translate to jobs with companies in Maine that are part of the DeepCwind Consortium.

With 15,000 jobs projected in this field, Maine is gearing its educational programs up to meet the demand for skilled workers.

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