Interior Secretary Salazar at UMaine Thursday

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar will be at the University of Maine on Thursday, Aug. 18 from approximately 1:45-3:15 p.m.

Salazar, a former Democratic U.S. Senator from Colorado who has been a member of the Obama cabinet since January, 2009, will be in Maine for a series of meetings arranged by Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine). At UMaine, he will tour the Advanced Structures and Composites Center to learn more about the UMaine-led DeepCWind Consortium and its work toward developing technology to harness deepwater offshore wind as a source of renewable power.

Accompanied by Collins, Salazar will arrive at UMaine at 1:45 p.m. Prof. Habib Dagher, director of the UMaine center and the DeepCWind Consortium, will conduct a 40-minute tour of the laboratory facility.  Dagher will describe several elements of the work, including scale model testing, plans for next summer’s deployment of a test turbine, environmental monitoring work and permitting. Ken Fletcher, director of Maine’s Office of Energy Independence, will also participate in the tour.

The tour will conclude at 2:30 p.m., giving journalists an opportunity to set up for a brief speaking event scheduled to begin shortly before 3. Salazar, Collins, Dagher and UMaine President Paul Ferguson will all offer brief comments.

Aug. 16, 2011
Contact: Joe Carr (joe.carr@umit.maine.edu)
(207) 581-3571