Maine and Nova Scotia team up for offshore wind and tidal energy

On Monday, July 12th, Maine Governor John Baldacci signed a memorandum of understanding with Nova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter to share data on offshore wind and tidal power.

The two leaders would like to team up on research and development to expand the use of offshore wind and tidal energy. The relationship between the two countries is potentially a positive solution that could help save time and money in generating the crucial information needed before proceeding with the energy projects.

The Associated Press wrote, “The American Wind Energy Association lauded the agreement, saying this type of partnership will help the North American offshore wind and energy industry realize its many environmental, economic and job creation benefits.”

The entities have already started the process of looking into the validity and sustainability of offshore energy for their respective future energy needs.

In March of 2006, with funding from the Nova Scotia government, the OEER Association (Offshore Energy Environmental Research) and OETR Association (Offshore Energy Technical Research) were established.

To quote www.offshoreenergyresearch.ca, “Our goal is to fund offshore energy environmental and geoscience research and development in order to maximize Nova Scotia’s offshore energy resource potential and to gain understanding about the potential implications of offshore energy research and development on the marine environment.”

Maine soon followed, in June of 2009, by a unanimous vote of the Maine Legislature, The Maine Offshore Energy Demonstration Area Siting Initiative was established to find sites appropriate for the operation of primarily offshore floating wind turbine platforms.

The instability of the petroleum fuel markets has led the two nations to work together to find a working solution for sustainable energy and to offset the extreme fluctuations in electrical, gasoline and home heating costs.

Along with this new partnership, in late June of this year, Maine Governor John Baldacci said that the U.S. Department of Energy had committed $20 million to further the development of deepwater offshore wind energy development for the State of Maine.

Located at www.Maine.gov, Maine’s initiative has already identified three demonstration sites off the coast of Maine by using these four key criteria for possible energy development:

1. Wind speed greater than 8.0 meters per second (approximately 17 miles per hour) on an annual average

2. Areas that primarily consist of ocean depths greater than 60 meters (Approximately 200 feet of water)

3. Areas that minimize conflicts with marine obstructions, dredge dumps, officially recognized shipping channels, and unexploded ordinances

4. Proximity to existing undersea cables or areas that have historically been pre-permitted for an undersea cable by the United States Army Corps of Engineers

Very little is known about the impact the wind turbines may have on wildlife whose habitat will be encroached upon by the man-made turbines.

According to www.Maine.gov, “The State has taken steps to gather input and advice from various experts on topics ranging from birds, to bats, to marine mammals and get a general consensus on how to approach certain issues that have been identified as possibly being associated with ocean energy developments.”

Maine hopes that the site testing initiative will help to answer the many questions regarding the impact on wildlife and marine mammals and hopes to prove the relevancy of building wind turbines in the Gulf of Maine’s harsh environment and the causations of such development of these structures on a long-term basis.

In developing offshore wind, Maine and Nova Scotia hope to displace the costs of other types of energy already in use and find an energy source that will be available for future generations.