UMaine Deepwater Offshore Wind Test Site

The University of Maine (UMaine) Deepwater Offshore Wind Test Site, located nearly 3 miles south west of Monhegan Island, Maine is available for use by commercial and non-commercial entities in partnership with the University of Maine, or the University of Maine itself, to research and develop ocean energy devices, such as floating wind turbines or wave energy converters.

The University of Maine asserts that the test site is among the most extensively studied in the Gulf of Maine.

The site was established under Maine law in 2009. The legislation formally designates the test site as the "Maine Offshore Wind Energy Research Center."

Maine Aqua Ventus I, GP, LLC, is pursuing a 12 MW demonstration offshore wind pilot project in the Test Site, with deployment and commercial operations planned for 2020.

The following research and development efforts are allowable in the UMaine Deepwater Offshore Wind Test Site, per LD 1465:

There are no enhanced limitations placed on traditional commercial or recreational uses within the test site.

The University of Maine and its partners conducted a variety of ecological and environmental studies to characterize the UMaine Deepwater Offshore Wind Test Site, primarily between 2010 and 2013. Studies include baseline data on benthic invertebrates, marine mammals, birds, fish, and others.

Survey results were published in 2011 in a University of Maine-published report, entitled: "Maine Offshore Wind Report." The report was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and others.

Hourly buoy data near the UMaine Deepwater Offshore Wind Test Site is available viewing and download from the Northeastern Regional Association of Coastal Ocean Observing Systems (NERACOOS) buoy E01. Available real-time weather and ocean data includes winds, waves, visibility, air temperature, and water temperature at the UMaine Deepwater Offshore Wind Test Site.

The UMaine Deepwater Offshore Wind Test Site was designated to the University of Maine by the 124th Legislature of the State of Maine in 2009. As a result of recommendations from Governor John E. Baldacci's Ocean Energy Task Force, the Maine Department of Conservation identified three locations off the coast of Maine as Wind Energy Test Areas. The sites were chosen following a public outreach process led by the Maine State Planning Office in cooperation with the Maine State Planning Office, Department of Environmental Protection, Department of Marine Resources, and the University of Maine. In December 2009, the Maine Department of Conservation designated the location off of Monhegan Island based on its distance from the mainland shore and greater water depths.

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