Maine Looks To Flex Offshore Wind Muscles

Maine Looks To Flex Offshore Wind Muscles

(Source: State House News Service)

1/24/23:

As Massachusetts residents wait for the promise of offshore wind to materialize, officials in another New England state are angling to join the movement toward energy resources generated by steady ocean winds.

Labor and conservation groups in Maine on Tuesday unveiled a bill calling for the procurement of 2.8 gigawatts of floating offshore wind energy over the next 12 years, enough to power nearly 1 million homes, according to the Natural Resources Council of Maine.

The groups cited information from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in pointing to the potential for offshore wind to develop into a major energy source for all of New England, and noted that winds in the Gulf of Maine peak in the winter months when Maine's energy use is the highest.

The five-year-old NREL report suggested that Maine "may have 65 gigawatts of economic potential by 2027, the highest of any U.S. state" and that Maine "could use its offshore wind resource to supply offshore wind power to serve its in-state electric load as well as electricity markets in adjacent states such as New Hampshire and Massachusetts."

"Mainers are facing crippling energy bills because of our reliance on polluting fossil fuels," said Sen. Mark Lawrence (D-York), chair of Maine's Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology. "Powering the region with offshore wind will provide the clean energy we need to stabilize electricity prices and meet Maine's ambitious climate goals. This bill will make sure we're acting on the timeline necessary to avoid the worst impacts of climate change while ensuring strong standards for environment, labor, and equity."

Under the proposal, Maine Public Utilities Commission would manage the procurement process for offshore wind.

Massachusetts has been angling for years to get an offshore wind sector going, a quest marked by long permitting processes, wavering levels of public support, concerns for the fishing sector and sea life, and the usual bumps in the road associated with standing up any new economic sector.

According to the council, the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is "undergoing a years-long, thorough review to determine the most appropriate locations for floating offshore wind turbines in federal ocean waters far off the coast of Maine." - Michael P. Norton/SHNS | 1/24/23 12:55 PM