President Donald Trump’s administration issued stop-work orders earlier this month on three University of Maine (UMaine) offshore wind development projects, funded through a $12.6 million grant, for alleged violations of grant terms.
[RELATED: Trump Places Indefinite Halt on Offshore Wind Development and New England Fisherman Celebrate…]
“Here is the letter from the Trump Administration to the University of Maine to stop work orders to three University of Maine grants all surrounding offshore wind research,” said Rep. Reagan Paul (R-Winterport) on X.
“It’s good to see the University of Maine on the radar. Remember that this floating offshore wind research project has cost tens of millions of dollars and decades of research – and last year failed DOE testing for commercial scalability. Enough is enough,” she added.
Rep. Paul’s district includes Sears Island, which has been a central focus of the debate over offshore wind-power, which both fishermen and some conservationists oppose.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) sent a letter on April 11 informing UMaine of the grant suspension and accusing them of failing to comply with one or more elements of the National Policy Assurances, prerequisites for federal research grant funding.
The freeze applies to three wind-energy related projects funded by a $12.6 million grant from the Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E), according to an unnamed university spokesman speaking to Notus.
The grant suspension is set to last for 90 days, though the letter warns that the freeze could be extended by a written notice from an ARPA-E grant officer.
The DOE did not specify how UMaine had violated the terms of their grant, and the UMaine spokesman told Notus that they were unaware of the nature of the violation and had not been informed of any investigation against them.
“It makes no specific allegations, nor is UMaine aware of any previous concerns or investigation into its compliance,” said the spokesman.
The letter also did not include any instructions on how the university could regain the funding or remedy the unspecified violations.
The policy assurances do require grant recipients to comply with federal Title IX anti-discrimination laws. Under the Trump Administration’s interpretation of the law, compliance requires a prohibition of transgender-identifying males entering women’s sports or women-only spaces such as restrooms and locker rooms.
The Department of Justice is currently suing Maine over Title IX violations related to transgender-identifying athletes.
[RELATED: DOJ Files Civil Suit Against Maine, Rep. Libby and Two Maine Students Join AG Bondi in Live Presser…]
UMaine, however, has formally complied with the Trump Administration’s Title IX interpretation, leaving the reason for its grant suspension mysterious.
The suspension reportedly came on the same day as the university launched a prototype concrete wind turbine platform in Penobscot Bay.
The funding halt aligns with President Trump’s efforts to end offshore wind development. On his first day in office, Trump issued an order immediately halting all federal offshore wind leasing and paused the issuance of any permits for offshore wind turbine development.
Good start. Now cancel all contracts at both shipyards.
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Cut the Money. Save my tax dollars.
Hahaha so too bad no wind mills going up.
Sounds like a good day for the country.