January 25, 2021 — As commercial fishermen express concern about the impact of proposed offshore wind energy development in the Gulf of Maine, Gov. Janet Mills on Friday tried to calm the waters.
Mills said in a letter to fishermen she will ask the Legislature to create a 10-year moratorium on new wind projects within 3 miles of shoreline, a state-managed band of ocean that supports most of Maine’s lobster fishing as well as much coastal tourism.
But she promised little to allay fears about how a planned array of floating wind turbines might affect fishing and the marine environment farther offshore.
The Governor’s Energy Office is leading the development of up to 12 turbines that would float 20 to 40 miles off Maine’s southern coast and be used for research. In partnership with the University of Maine and two renewable energy companies, the New England Aqua Ventus array would cover up to 16 square miles of ocean grounds leased from the federal government.
While a specific site hasn’t been chosen, the array would likely connect to the state’s power grid at either the Wyman Station generating plant in Yarmouth or the former Maine Yankee plant in Wiscasset, according to a news release Monday.
Meanwhile, a coalition of fishermen recently urged the governor to make “an inclusive planning process” a priority in any offshore wind development. The Maine Lobstermen’s Association, Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association, and a number of Maine-based fishermen are members of the members of the coalition, dubbed Responsible Offshore Development Alliance and headquartered in Washington, D.C.
Fishermen also spoke out in opposition to the plan during a series of December webinars hosted by the Governor’s Energy Office and the Maine Department of Marine Resources. The sessions were designed to gather input from the fishing community about siting and the array’s potential impact on the industry.