Wind Power News: Maine
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch. They are the products of and owned by the organizations or individuals noted and are shared here according to “fair use” and “fair dealing” provisions of copyright law.
Maine tightens up proposed offshore wind farm area, but fishermen still don’t like it
Maine fishermen said they appreciate the effort by the Department of Marine Resources to get their input on the site for a proposed offshore wind-turbine array. After collecting input over the past few months about fishing activity, marine wildlife and navigation in a 770-square-mile “area of interest” off the southern Maine coast, the Governor’s Energy Office on Monday announced a “narrowed area of interest” of 16 square miles. But industry representatives said they’re still concerned about potential impact on fisheries. . . . Complete story »
State narrows location for proposed offshore wind turbines
After reviewing potential impact to fisheries, marine wildlife and navigation within 770 square miles of ocean off southern Maine, the Governor’s Energy Office is now focusing on a 16-square-mile area to site up to 12 floating wind-power turbines. The preferred site for the research array is an L-shaped swath of the Gulf of Maine, about 25 miles south of Muscongus Bay, according to a report issued Monday. The office is inviting comments on the site through July 30 to inform . . . Complete story »
Mills signs offshore wind ban amid lingering skepticism from fishermen
After pressure from Maine lobstermen, Gov. Janet Mills has signed a law that permanently bans the development of offshore wind energy projects in Maine state waters, but it did not come without give-and-take. Under the law, new wind projects are now confined to federal waters. LD 1619, sponsored by Sen. Mark Lawrence (D-Eliot), stipulates new offshore wind developments are permanently prohibited in state waters, but will be permitted in federal waters if, by March 2023, the Governor’s Energy Office develops . . . Complete story »
Mills signs new law that prohibits offshore wind projects in state waters
Gov. Mills has signed compromise legislation to permanently bar future development of offshore wind projects in state waters. At the same time, momentum is building behind her plan to develop, for research purposes, a 16-square mile wind farm in federal waters off Maine. A previously approved, single-turbine wind project off Monhegan Island is moving forward. But otherwise, the new law will bar any other wind-energy development within state waters – about three miles of the coast. Mills had initially proposed . . . Complete story »
Offshore wind compromise lands on Governor Mills’ desk
AUGUSTA – A ban on offshore wind development in state waters has made it through the state Legislature and will head over to the desk of Gov. Janet Mills. On June 30, the state Senate voted to enact the compromise that had emerged out of the committee, melding a bill from local state Rep. Billy Bob Faulkingham (R-Winter Harbor) with one backed by Mills’ office. Faulkingham’s bill would have stopped state agencies from permitting any wind development while Mills recommended a 10-year moratorium . . . Complete story »
Bill to jumpstart northern Maine’s renewable energy industry earns Janet Mills’ signature
MADAWASKA, Maine – Gov. Janet Mills signed a bill to give Aroostook’s renewable energy industry a boost Tuesday afternoon. LD 1710, which passed through the Legislature with bipartisan support, looks to connect the Northern Maine energy grid to the one powering the rest of New England. The hope is to facilitate renewable energy exports, which are costly right now as northern Maine’s power has to be wheeled through New Brunswick before it can be distributed in the U.S. The next step . . . Complete story »
Offshore wind ban compromise comes out of committee
AUGUSTA – A compromise has emerged in the state Legislature that would install a permanent ban on wind energy development in state waters and give the fishing industry a seat at the table on any federal projects that want to connect to land through the state’s jurisdiction. The compromise came from the Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology, which had been considering a pair of dueling bills on offshore wind. The first was an outright ban of state agencies permitting wind . . . Complete story »
$235M Downeast Wind project under review by LUPC
Plans for a $235 million wind farm in Washington County, in the works since 2013, are before the Maine Land Use Planning Commission for review, a final step before construction can begin. The state Department of Environmental Protection passed the Apex Clean Energy project on to the commission for review last month after DEP determined the wind farm is an allowed use under its guidelines. The LUPC is the planning authority for the state’s 10.4 million acres of unorganized territory. . . . Complete story »
Wind project will negatively impact Monhegan
The “compromise” apparently reached for the LD 1619 Amendment is no compromise at all if it excludes the New England Aqua Ventus mega-windmill project off Monhegan. Notwithstanding the important and practical concerns raised by the Maine Lobstermen’s Association, it is important to note that this massive piece of industrial infrastructure, situated in such close proximity to the historic Monhegan Island, will severely impact one of the remaining unspoiled and significant sea and landscapes on the coast of Maine and in . . . Complete story »
Amended wind energy bill includes permanent ban on wind projects within state waters
After seven months of contention over Governor Janet Mills’ efforts to ramp up wind-energy development off Maine’s coast, some compromises are emerging in Augusta – including a permanent ban on wind projects within state waters. Mills angered Maine’s lobster industry last year, when she proposed a 16-square mile “research array” of up to 12 turbines to be floated in federal waters 20 miles or more off the coast – in a partnership with the University of Maine and international wind developers. . . . Complete story »
