At $15 to $20 per kilowatt-hour, Maine residents are already paying the highest energy costs in North America. Now, as energy analyst Charlie Maxwell predicts fuel costs rising to $20 per gallon by 2020, the situation shows no signs of relief. Still, hoping to defy these figures, Professor Habib Dagher with more than 60 doctorate holders and the students at University of Maine will conduct a test project off the coast of Maine to harness the deep-water wind power.
During the initial tests, the students will analyze if the high power ocean winds can generate sufficient energy. If all goes well, it will establish Maine as the first harnesser of deep-water wind energy in the US.
Prof. Dagher says that neither the offshore wind-turbine test sites nor the 500 feet tall turbines will be visible from the shoreline. To develop these test sites, the State Department of Conservation is also providing much-needed assistance.
Image Credit: EnergyTechStocks
Via: Maine Campus