Pittsfield, Me., heavy civil and utility contractor Cianbro Corp. hosted a late-May launch of North America's first grid-connected, offshore wind turbine-bearing on a three-leg, floating foundation combining University of Maine-developed concrete hull and advanced composite materials. Festivities took place at the ENR 400 contractor's Eastern Manufacturing Facility in Brewer, Me. Crews hoisted the VolturnUS prototype with 60-ft. turbine into the Penobscot River for a two-day journey to anchorage off the Castine, Me., coast, Maine Maritime Academy tugboats leading the deployment. The first floating turbine of its kind in the world, the prototype is dubbed VolturnUSl:8, reflecting its scale of a commercial, 6MW, 423-ft. rotor diameter structure.
展开▼
