A research site for an offshore wind array in the Gulf of Maine has been advanced by the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in the first project of its kind in the U.S.
The array could include up to 12 turbines placed on floating concrete platforms pioneered by the University of Maine. The lease is intended to allow researchers to study interactions of the array with the marine environment, fishing industry, shipping and navigation routes.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management determined that there’s no competitive interest for the 15.2-square-mile area of federal waters about 23 miles from Monhegan Island and 45 miles off Portland, according to a news release.
The decision doesn’t guarantee that the state will receive a lease for the project. The next steps for processing the application include a review of the potential environmental impacts from offshore wind leasing activities.
If the application is accepted, it could be used to inform any future commercial offshore wind development in the Gulf of Maine, as well as the deployment of floating offshore wind technology nationwide.
The final size and location of the research site will be determined by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management during the lease review process.
“The research array is the cornerstone of Maine’s judicious approach to floating offshore wind, which emphasizes cooperation and collaboration with Maine’s fishing industry and environmental community to conduct important research and testing of this new technology and evaluate its potential impacts on existing uses,” said Dan Burgess, director of the Governor’s Energy Office.
The floating concrete hull technology to be used as platforms for the wind turbines have were designed and developed by the University of Maine’s Advanced Structures and Composite Center. The system is called VolturnUS.
If developed, the research site could generate up to 144 megawatts of renewable energy. To put that number in context, a megawatt of capacity will produce electricity that equates to about the same amount of electricity consumed by 400 to 900 homes in a year.
It would be the nation’s first floating offshore wind research site in federal waters.
The state applied for the research lease in October 2021, following months of public and stakeholder outreach, research and data analysis to identify a site in the Gulf of Maine with minimal effects on fishing, wildlife and navigation.
But Maine fishermen have registered their concerns about the project. Last summer, fishermen at a public hearing on the project said they were concerned about the potential effects of offshore wind power on their industry and asked the state to slow its development until there’s more research on the interaction between the two industries.
At 15.2 square miles, the site identified by the state represents approximately 0.04% of the 36,000-square-mile Gulf of Maine.
In the coming weeks, the Governor’s Energy Office said it expects to release the Maine Offshore Wind Roadmap, a plan for offshore wind in Maine developed by economic, environmental, fisheries, and community representatives over the past 18 months.
For more about the roadmap, click here.