The Biden administration has granted a request from the State of Maine to lease 15.2 square mile in the Gulf of Maine for an offshore wind array.
The “research lease” site is located 28 nautical miles off the coast of Maine, southeast of Portland, and if developed would allow for the construction of up to 12 floating wind turbines capable of generating up to 144 megawatts of energy.
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Tuesday’s approval of the research lease dates back to an October 2021 application by the State of Maine to lease the 15.2 square mile area in the Gulf for the purpose of researching floating offshore wind energy technology and deployment.
“Floating wind technology can make offshore wind a reality in the Gulf of Maine,” said Director of the U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Elizabeth Klein.
“BOEM will continue to work in partnership with the state of Maine as we move forward to facilitate the responsible development of offshore wind in this region, as well as the deployment of floating offshore wind technology nationwide,” Klein said.
BOEM also announced that it will publish the Final Environmental Assessment (Final EA) regarding potential environmental impacts of the planned offshore wind turbine lease area on Wednesday.
According to BOEM, the Final EA found that developing the 15.2 square mile area “would have no significant impact on the environment.”
“As a result, under the National Environmental Policy Act, BOEM is not required to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement in order to issue a wind energy research lease offshore Maine,” the agency wrote in their Tuesday press release.
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In a Tuesday statement, Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) applauded BOEM’s approval of the research lease area as a “tremendous opportunity” for Maine to “create good-paying jobs and drive economic development, and to reduce our over-reliance on fossil fuels and fight climate change.”
“This offer of a lease is a major milestone in our effort to embrace these significant economic and environmental benefits for Maine and Maine people and is a recognition of our nation-leading work to responsibly develop this promising industry,” Gov. Mills said.
“My Administration looks forward to reviewing the lease from BOEM over the coming weeks as we strive to advance critical research into floating offshore wind in the Gulf of Maine,” Mills added.
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The governor’s press release also noted that the state intends to utilize floating concrete platforms designed by the University of Maine for the turbines included in the research array.
The State of Maine has 30 calendar days from May 24, 2024, to accept, reject or request modifications to the lease offered by BOEM.
