ORONO, Maine — The University of Maine is in the midst of an international race to develop a new system to measuring winds high above the oceans and advance the push for offshore wind power.

UMaine’s Advanced Structures and Composites Center is working on a buoy-based light detection and ranging system, or LiDAR, which it hopes to deploy in the Gulf of Maine by late May or early June, according the center’s director, Habib Dagher.

Read more: Bangor Daily News.

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Norwegian energy giant Statoil gained key approval Thursday in its bid to build one of the nation's first offshore wind power projects off Maine's Boothbay Harbor.

The $120 million project would put four, three-megawatt wind turbines 12 miles off the coast on floating spar-buoy structures tethered to the seabed in 460 feet of water.

Read More on Nytimes.com

On Dec. 12, the same day that Forbes Magazine slapped Maine with its third consecutive "worst state for business " tag, the U.S. Department of Energy deemed Maine a good place to invest in offshore wind energy development.  That recognition fuels hope that better economic fortunes can be found on the prevailing winds in the Gulf of Maine.  Read More ...

The U.S. Department of Energy has just issued a first round of funding to develop seven new demonstration offshore wind power projects in Connecticut, Maine, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, and Virginia. The initial grants of $4 million for each project will cover engineering, design, and permitting costs. If all goes well in Congress (nudge, nudge), after a review, only three will be chosen to receive an additional $47 million each, which will cover the costs of actually getting the turbines into the water. So, what do we get for all that dough?

Read more at http://cleantechnica.com