State picks three offshore wind sites
The state has chosen three coastal spots in southern and midcoast Maine as test sites for offshore wind technology.
The Maine Department of Conservation and the Maine State Planning Office narrowed down the four sites it identified in October to three areas off Boon Island near York, off Damariscove Island near Boothbay and off Monhegan Island in the midcoast as ideal spots for testing offshore wind components, according to a release from the state. At a press conference in Augusta this morning, Gov. John Baldacci announced the sites as testing grounds for floating platforms, anchoring systems and blade composites. The Monhegan Island site will be a research and development facility for the University of Maine, which received an $8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy and is planning to install three units.
Any private company looking to use the sites would have to file federal permits as well as an application with the state's Department of Environmental Protection, and would be limited to testing two turbines, according to the release. See maps of the sites.
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