Maine regulators have approved construction of a 12-MW offshore wind farm, one of two offshore projects developing separate technologies to harness, by 2016, deepwater wind energy from the Gulf of Maine and link it to the state's power network.
Despite earlier concerns about the cost impact on ratepayers, the Maine Public Utilities Commission approved on Jan. 24 the $120-million Hywind project, which will involve four spar-buoy turbines, each 3 MW, tethered to the seabed off Boothbay Harbor between Portland and Rockport. The project is being led by Statoil North America, a unit of the Norwegian energy firm. Its contract with Maine utilities seals a 26¢-per-KW-hour power purchase agreement for the project. Floating wind turbines already have passed tests in the North Sea.