BOEM Takes First Step in Gulf Wind Leases In August the Department of the Interior Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) published a Request for Interest (RFI) and Request for Competitive Interest (RFCI) in the offshore … Continue reading
In The News – August 2022
Seafood Processors, Dealers Receive More Than $15 million in Aid More than $15 million was awarded earlier this summer to 107 Maine seafood dealers and processors to help increase the supply of Maine-harvested seafood, strengthen … Continue reading
Guest Column: Environmental impact must be determined before wind leases
First published in the Portland Press Herald. The Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association and Conservation Law Foundation may disagree on a few things, but we both recognize the urgency of the climate crisis. If it isn’t … Continue reading
Fisheries Working Group Offers Draft Recommendations for Maine Offshore Wind Roadmap
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