Maine wind power research firm get $4.5 M grant

Sen. Olympia Snowe announced the Department of Energy grant to BioDiversity Research Institute on Wednesday. The Maine Republican says Maine is uniquely positioned to harness deep-water, offshore wind energy. She says technical and environmental challenges for the wind energy industry, as well as a long permitting process, are major impediments to installing offshore wind turbines. Snowe says the research project will yield data critical to advance development of offshore wind turbines.