Offshore Wind Wire

By Peter Brennan

Maine legislators are scheduled to hold a hearing Thursday on an ambitious piece of offshore wind legislation proposed by Gov. John Baldacci.

Under the legislation, the state would set a target of 300 megawatts (MW) of installed offshore wind capacity by 2020 and 5,000 MW of installed offshore wind capacity by 2030.  The legislation also includes a goal of 3,000 MW of overall wind energy capacity in the state by 2020 and 8,000 MW by 2030.

The bill, An Act To Implement the Recommendations of the Governor’s Ocean Energy Task Force (L.D. 1810), is scheduled for a public hearing before the Utilities and Energy Committee on Thursday, March 11 at 1PM.

The legislation would create leasing procedures that allow phased development and discourage speculative site banking.  Additionally, the bill would form a Renewable Ocean Energy Trust Fund for lease fees generated by renewable ocean energy projects and make that money available for research, resource enhancement and compensation to help mitigate adverse impacts caused by development.

The legislation also calls for the development of tidal energy resources in Maine’s coastal waters.

The legislation has already attracted opposition from Gulf of Maine fishermen and other citizen groups.  In February, the Citizens’ Task Force on Wind Power asked Baldacci to issue an executive order putting all of the state’s new wind projects on hold, citing concerns about potential negative impacts on public health and the environment.