Maine Governor Baldacci Kicks Off Wind Blade Challenge

May 15, 2009 -- ORONO – Maine Governor John E. Baldacci today kicked off the inaugural Maine High School Wind Blade Challenge at the University of Maine.

Eighteen high schools from around Maine have been working for two months to research designs and produce wind blades for the competition. The schools created a total of 31 teams to work with a kit of composite resources to produce the blades. The teams all gathered at the University of Maine Fieldhouse this morning to test the blades and determine the winner of the competition.

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“I know everyone involved has been impressed with the talent and drive of the students competing in this challenge,” Governor Baldacci said. “What you’ve succeeded in doing today has great potential for Maine’s economy in the future. We hope that your interest has grown in the possibilities of the composite and alternative energy technologies you have been working with, because you are Maine’s future.”

Teams were required to build the blades no longer than 18 inches long and to create turbines no greater than 42 inches in diameter. Once the teams produced their blades, they traveled to a composite lab in their area to wrap their blades with fiber glass cloth and infuse them with resin. The official testing at the University of Maine today measured the power output of each blade turbine design at a set wind speed.

“Your experience today can become a springboard for your future career,” the Governor said to the students. “Your education and now your familiarity with what’s happening in the field of composites, as well as your contact with the forward thinking institutions that are already achieving great things in the field, can lead to a great amount of success in what is a rapidly growing industry. Continuing your education in math and sciences can translate into exciting opportunities for your future.”

The winners of the 2009 Maine High School Wind Blade Challenge are:

1. Sumner Memorial High School, Team 1
2. Machias Memorial High School
3. Old Town High School
4. Brunswick High School, Team 2
5. Sumner Memorial High School, Team 3

The complete list of schools participating in the Maine Wind Blade Challenge:

* Hancock County Technical Center, Ellsworth (2 teams)
* Shead High School, Eastport
* Falmouth High School, Falmouth
* Machias Memorial High School, Machias
* Jay High School, Jay
* Ellsworth High School, Ellsworth
* Upper Kennebec Valley High School, Bingham (5 teams)
* Old Town High School, Old Town
* Greely High School, Cumberland
* Sanford Regional Vocational Center, Sanford
* Thornton Academy, Saco
* Mattanawcook Academy, Lincoln
* Sumner Memorial High School, Sullivan (2 teams)
* Sacopee Valley High School, South Hiram (2 teams)
* Lewiston High School, Lewiston (5 teams)
* Bath Regional Vocational Center/Morse High, Bath
* Brunswick High School, Brunswick (3 teams)
* Maine Vocational Region 10, Brunswick

Source: Maine Governor