Commissioner Mark Vannoy echoed that line of thinking.

“Statoil and its proponents emphasize that this is a research project and as such its real economic value will be seen in the future beyond the limits and scope of this project,” Commissioner Mark Vannoy said [PDF]. “(But) there is no certainty to such future projections. Further depending on your assumptions and your view of current and future market conditions a reasonable case can be made that there is little likelihood of future investment on the magnitude (billions) necessary to see the projected future returns in the State of Maine.”

image via Wikimedia Commons

Statoil says that in the long run, it sees floating turbines delivering energy at $100/MWh when they move beyond the demonstration phase. “Statoil believes that there is tremendous potential value to Maine associated with the construction of full-scale commercial offshore wind energy parks,” the company wrote in comments delivered to the PUC [PDF].

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