2nd Annual Maine Wind Energy Conference - live blogging DeepCwind section - Complete & edited

2nd ANNUAL MAINE WIND CONFERENCE 1/25/11 Edited Morning and afternoon sessions

(edited=removal of twitter links)

Live blogged by "DeepCwind Consortium"

 

Speakers for Morning DeepCwind  Session

Jake Ward UMaine's Dept of Industrial Cooperation

Gary Hunt, UMaine's School of Economics

Caroline Noblet, UMaine's School of Economics

Mario Teisl,  UMaine's School of Economics.

 

START LIVE BLOG

 We're tweeting from the Offshore Wind Track at the Maine Energy Conference in Augusta.

 

Jake Ward from UMaine's Dept of Industrial Cooperation is leading an overview presentation of offshore wind

 

Ward: The DeepCwind Consortium consists of nearly 40 partners working to research deepwater offshore wind up to intermediate scale platforms.

 

Ward: A 10 minute hot shower costs about the same as a cup of coffee. We can choose to make smart energy decisions.

 

Ward: DeepCwind currently has funding for testing at the test site off of Monhegan Island. We have a great team making this happen.

 

Ward: We're working on expanding what we do at the test site to the rest of the Gulf of Maine. We have a lot of data sources.

 

Hunt: Based on a refer study from UMaine, there is overwhelming Maine support for wind power, but concern for price of electricity.

 

(The public opinion study Hunt mentioned will be subject of the panel starting at 1030 EST).

 

Hunt: Research estimates for offshore wind capital cost ranges from $3500-$5500/kW.

 

Hunt: Many current estimates say offshore wind electricity will cost the consumer about 20 cents per kWh. We can decrease to 10 cents/kWh.

 

Hunt: As the industry scales up, capital costs will decrease 10-15 percent from the 2010 estimates mentioned before.

 

Hunt: As the offshore wind research and industry scale up, project financing rates will also significantly improve.

 

Hunt: The more we follow the learning curve for the offshore wind industry, costs will decrease. Many complex industries show this trend.

 

Hunt: Based on calcs of current offshore wind trends & comparison to industry dev trends, by the end of 2020 we should have 9 cents/kWh.

 

Hunt: To see the calculated benefits for the 2020 decade, we need investment now in research and development.

 

Caroline Noblet from UMaine's School of Economics is introducing results of a statewide public opinion survey about wind energy. Noblet is tag-teaming with

Mario Teisl, also of UMaine's School of Economics.

 

Teisl: The public tends to trust university researchers, although they're concerned that researchers aren't very in tune with the community.

 

Teisl: Opinions of the DEP tend to flop: they are perceived to care, but may not necessarily produce unbiased information.

 

Teisl: Most Mainers have heard of wind energy and support it. Most of those supporters prefer deepwater offshore wind.

 

Teisl: There are similar concerns between groups who do not support wind and those who support deepwater wind.

 

Teisl: While people are optimistic about wind energy, they are largely unsure that it's the whole solution. Most prefer an energy portfolio.

 

Noblet: Research doesn't stop with data collection. We're also looking at what affects public perception with UMaine's Dept of Psychology.Noblet: Research doesn't stop with data collection. We're also looking at what affects public perception with UMaine's Dept of Psychology.

 

END OF MORNING SESSION

 

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AFTERNOON SESSION

Speakers for Afternoon DeepCwind  Session

John Henshaw Maine Port Authority

Bill Follett Cianbro

Paul Williamson Maine Wind Industry Initiative

Matt Nixon Maine State Planning Office 

Andy Qua from Kleinschmidt Associates

Peter Browne of HDR Engineering

Jake Ward of the UMaine Industrial Cooperation

Peter Jumars University of Maine School of Marine Sciences

Dr. Melissa Maynard of the UMaine Dept of Civil and Environmental Engineering 

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START LIVE BLOG

Sitting in on a panel about Maine supply chain for offshore wind moderated by

Paul Williamson (Maine Wind Industry Initiative) including  John Henshaw (Maine Port Authority) and Bill Follett (Cianbro).

 

Follett introduces some general platform designs and how Maine would/could handle them.

 

Follett: Turbine controls would enable shut-down if weather became too tough.

 

Williamson: The bigger challenge is not so much about damage, but general operation. With too much yaw and pitch, efficiency decreases.

 

Follett: Most floating platforms would use a crane on a barge to install the turbine and tower.

 

Follett: Most designs are meant to be constructed near shore. Working with the Maine Port Authority we can reinforce our ports for that.

 

Henshaw: Three deepwater ports in Maine: Portland, Searsport, Eastport. Per LD 1810, we should utilize and improve what we have.

 

Henshaw: We're naturally interested in export opportunities in addition to our own offshore wind development.

 

Williamson: With development of our ports, we could manufacture and compete with those transportation challenges.

 

Henshaw: Transmission is a big question right now. It's an expensive investment.

 

UP NEXT at the Maine Wind Energy Conference is the

 

Critical Path Permitting panel.

 

Matt Nixon (Maine State Planning Office) begins.

 

Nixon: The Ocean Energy Task force figured Maine's "niche" is deepwater offshore wind energy.

 

Nixon: Test site selection involved public meetings where we polled and discussed with locals near proposed sites what they thought.

 

Nixon: We also conducted GIS analysis of hundreds of coastal considerations like fishing, recreation, and historical value.

 

Nixon: Three tests were selected, one of which was designated by LD 1465 to UMaine for intermediate scale platform testing.

 

Nixon: The Maine Public Utilities Commission then released an RFP due June 1 for development in federal waters of wind and/or tidal power.

 

Next is Andy Qua from Kleinschmidt Associates to discuss the Maine permitting process, including NEPA requirements.

 

Qua: Maine DEP evaluates the permit application with several other state organizations like DIF&W, Dept of Conservation, & Marine Resources.

 

Qua: Some federal consultants include NOAA, Coast Guard, Dept of Interior, National Park Service, Army Corps of Engineers.

 

Qua: Permit application includes site plans, fishing & marine report, remedial action plan, removal plan, fish and wildlife monitoring plan.

 

Qua: UMaine is aiming to permit the site off of Monhegan for one or two scale models. The application should go to DEP this spring.

 

Following Qua is

Peter Browne of HDR Engineering out of Portland, ME. He's addressing the federal permitting.

 

Browne: Federal permitting will go through BOEMRE, formerly MMS. They review both commercial and limited (usu. research-based) leases.

 

Browne: BOEMRE will conduct a NEPA review for lease sale and site assessment. Additional analysis may be necessary.

 

Jake Ward of the UMaine Industrial Cooperation returns as the final panelist for permitting topics to talk more specifically about BOEMRE.

 

Ward: We're aiming to start with a pilot project. BOEMRE has been working with Maine to make that happen.

 

Dr. Peter Jumars in the School of Marine Sciences at UMaine starts with an overview of environmental conditions in the Gulf of Maine.

 

Jumars: Maine is in the tailpipe of the country because of the jet stream. The need for wind power isn't a question.

 

Jumars: Maine has three ecosystems: aerial (in the air), pelagic (in the water), and demersal and benthic (ocean bottom).

 

Jumars: Bird issue is the most challenging. There isn't much existing data and it's hard to measure.

 

Jumars: A lot of DeepCwind effort is going into bird and bat monitoring. We've done continuous radar of the test site since July 2010.

 

Jumars: the Monhegan radar will comings through June or July 2011 and is the first survey of it's kind for Maine.

 

Jumars: Protected areas from marine structures have shown growth in things like reefs. We can expect the same in our gulf.

 

Dr. Melissa Maynard of the UMaine Dept of Civil and Environmental Engineering now discusses geophysical and geotechnical investigations

 

Maynard: A lot of bathymetic info derives from NOAA and USGS. We also need to research higher, site-specific resolution data.

 

Maynard: The Gulf of Maine seabed is just as diverse and complex as the mainland: depths, sand, gravel, and more.

 

Maynard: The diversity of our seabed translates into cost for our test site.

 

Thanks, all, for following the proceedings from the Maine Wind Energy Conference. We had a great turnout!

 

END LIVEBLOG