Last July, the Governor’s Energy Office (GEO) formally launched the Maine Offshore Wind Roadmap effort, a federally-funded initiative to identify how to support an offshore wind (OSW) economy in Maine that considers the impacts of … Continue reading
Offshore Wind: BOEM And the Maine Fishing Industry
On October 1, 2021, the Governor’s Energy Office (GEO) submitted an application to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to develop a floating offshore wind research array in federal waters. Located in the southern … Continue reading
Fishing Industry Group To Sue Over Vineyard Wind Approval
By Nathaniel Burola On October 19, the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA), an organization of fishing industry and companies, filed a 60-day notice of its intent to sue over the decision by the Bureau of … Continue reading
Mills’ Administration Applies for Offshore Wind Lease
On October 1, Governor Janet Mill’s Energy Office (GEO) submitted its application to the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to lease a 15.2-square-mile area offshore in the Gulf of Maine to construct and … Continue reading
Right Whales Congregating Where Wind Turbines Will Be
North Atlantic right whales are congregating and finding food in a new area: southern New England waters where offshore wind energy projects are scheduled to be built. A new analysis, published in the journal Endangered … Continue reading
State Selects Offshore Site for First Commercial Floating Wind Farm
In July the Governor’s Energy Office (GEO) announced that it had identified a preferred site for a proposed 12-turbine floating wind energy installation in federal waters off southern Maine. Governor Mills announced in November 2020 … Continue reading
Offshore Wind Bill Passes, Acknowledges Fishing Industry Concerns
The Maine Legislature reached a compromise on offshore wind legislation in June, supporting amendments that give Maine fishermen membership in a newly created Offshore Wind Research Consortium and permanently ban commercial wind development in state … Continue reading
Vineyard Wind 800-MW Offshore Wind Farm Approved, Fishermen’s Concerns Not Addressed
On May 11, the Bureau of Offshore Energy Management (BOEM) within the Department of Interior released its final record of decision permitting construction and operation of Vineyard Wind, an offshore wind farm located in federal … Continue reading
Federal Agencies Voice Reservations About Vineyard Wind Impacts
Despite the fact that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) issued its final record of decision in early May permitting the 800-megawatt (MW) Vineyard Wind offshore wind farm in waters southeast of Martha’s Vineyard, … Continue reading
Steaming Ahead | May 2021
The Maine lobster industry finally has something to feel good about. On April 28, hundreds of fishermen, families and business people joined together outside of the Augusta Civic Center to oppose offshore wind development. The … Continue reading