Posted on July 8, 2024
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will hold public meetings and take comments this month on its draft environmental assessment for proposed offshore wind leases in the Gulf of Maine.
BOEM, an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior, announced in April its proposal for an offshore wind energy auction. It would include eight leasing areas off the coasts of Maine, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, with the potential to generate up to 15 megawatts of energy to power up to 5 million homes, according to BOEM.
In June, BOEM released a draft environmental assessment, which lays out the potential environmental consequences of the proposal. It lists expected impacts for a range of categories – including commercial and recreational fishing, sea turtles, military use, and more – as “negligible” or “negligible to minor.”
The 30-day public comment period ends on July 22. BOEM is holding virtual public meetings on the environmental assessment on July 8 at 1 p.m. and July 10 at 5 p.m. At the meetings, the public can learn more about the assessment, ask questions, and provide oral testimony, according to BOEM.
While clean energy advocates say offshore wind could help transition the region to greener energy sources, many fishermen have expressed staunch opposition to the proposal. A public meeting in Portsmouth in late May drew a crowd of opponents, mostly from the fishing community.
