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Technology Advancements and Competition Making UMaine go Bigger with Offshore Wind

A pending $5 million federal energy grant to help the University of Maine design larger platforms for a coming generation of floating offshore wind farms reflects a new reality in the wind power industry: turbine sizes that seemed unimaginable only 10 years ago. UMaine and its Maine Aqua Ventus partners have been trying since 2014 to get a pair of patented, semi-submersible platforms in the waters. A commercial-scale project like that could generate electricity to power 6,000 homes. But technology advances in the last five years means Maine Aqua Ventus now wants to beef up its platform design to accomodate a single 9.5-megawatt turbine, versus 6-megawatts previously. The target date is now 2022.

University of Maine

Photo Credit: University of Maine