Feds Finalize Wind Energy Area in the Gulf of Maine

WASHINGTON — The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has designated about 2 million acres in the Gulf of Maine the nation’s latest wind energy area.

On Monday, BOEM will publish a notice in the Federal Register announcing its intent to prepare an environmental assessment of the potential impacts from the leasing of acreage in the area for offshore wind development.

The publication of the notice will begin an initial 30-day public comment period. Another public comment period will occur if the bureau decides to move forward with a lease sale in the newly designated area.

Officials now believe that the designated region, which encompasses ocean acreage off the coasts of Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts, has the potential to support generation of about 32 GW of clean energy — more than double the amount targeted as goals by the states of Maine and Massachusetts combined.

The designated area lies between 23 and 92 miles off the coast.

Bureau officials said they finalized the designation of the area after extensive engagement with the states of Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, tribes, local residents, ocean users including the fishing community, federal government partners and other members of the public. 

Based on the feedback received about natural and cultural resources and current ocean uses, the proposed wind energy area represents an 80% reduction from the area the agency initially identified for possible leasing and a 43% reduction from the draft area. 

The resulting wind energy area avoids important areas for lobster fishing, North Atlantic right whale habitat, other important fishing areas and habitats, agency officials said.

Additionally, in response to the initial consultations with tribal nations located within Maine, the agency said it made a concerted effort to avoid a majority of the historical and present-day fishing grounds of those tribes. 

“[The Bureau] is committed to maintaining strong collaboration with the states of Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire as we advance our efforts in the Gulf of Maine,” explained the agency’s director, Elizabeth Klein. 

“We remain dedicated to engaging with tribal governments, federal and state agencies, ocean stakeholders, coastal communities and all interested parties as we progress through our environmental review,” she said.

Two rounds of analyses went into producing the draft and final versions of the wind energy area,

During that process, the bureau leveraged the ecosystem-based ocean planning model designed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science. 

That model incorporates the best available data on Gulf of Maine natural resources, ocean industries like fisheries and energy production, and national security activities to identify areas with high wind energy resource potential and fewer potential impacts to other ocean users and sensitive environmental resources, officials said. 

Going forward, officials said they will continue to try to avoid or minimize remaining ocean use and resource conflicts as subsequent phases of the leasing process unfold. 

Since the start of the Biden-Harris administration, the U.S. Dept. of the Interior has approved six commercial-scale offshore wind energy projects. 

Over the same period, the Bureau of Land Management has held four offshore wind lease auctions, which have brought in almost $5.5 billion in high bids, including a record-breaking sale offshore New York and New Jersey and the first-ever sales offshore the Pacific and Gulf of Mexico coasts.

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