BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 18, 2021
New England has enough offshore wind to generate more than five times its projected electricity needs by 2050, with Maine having especially high potential to generate the clean power, a study released Thursday found. Offshore wind is a key part of Gov. Janet Mills’ climate and pandemic recovery plans and has long been a topic of discussion here as the University of Maine’s Advanced Structures and Composites Center has been working for roughly a decade on floating wind platforms tethered to the seabed. While the energy source is only emerging in the U.S., offshore wind has enormous potential in decades to come. “Harnessing just 3 percent of the Gulf of Maine’s offshore wind resource would be enough to fully electrify heating and transportation in Maine,” Habib Dagher, executive director of the center, said.