August 20, 2024 — VolturnUS is UMaine’s patented floating concrete hull technology that has been awarded 43 patents in the U.S. and abroad.
An effort to study the impacts of offshore wind in the Gulf of Maine is closer to launch after the state and federal government reached a lease agreement on Monday for a floating research array.
The Federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management offered the research area lease to the state in late May for up to 15 square miles in federal waters about 30 miles southeast of Portland, according to a press release from Gov. Janet Mills’ office Monday afternoon. It will include up to 12 floating turbines and help inform how floating offshore wind operates and interacts with ecosystems in the water.