Mills, Congress members praise decision to protect vital lobstering territory from wind development • Maine Morning Star (original) (raw)
Gov. Janet Mills and state congressional leaders on Friday praised a decision by a federal agency to exclude an important lobster fishing ground from the area in the Gulf of Maine that will be leased for offshore wind development.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) on Friday released its final designated Wind Energy Area for the Gulf of Maine, which the agency said could ultimately support the generation of 32 gigawatts of clean energy.
The area excludes the entirety of Lobster Management Area 1, which is a crucial fishing ground for Maine’s lobster industry. That decision comes after Mills, Sens. Angus King and Susan Collins, and Reps. Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden repeatedly asked last year for that fishing ground to be excluded from the project.
“We appreciate that the Bureau has heeded our concerns and the majority of the concerns of Maine’s fishing communities in its final designation of Wind Energy Areas for the Gulf of Maine,” Mills, King, Collins and Pingree said in a statement. “This decision preserves vital fishing grounds and seeks to minimize potential environmental and ecological impacts to the Gulf of Maine.”
Environmental advocates and labor leaders are also pleased with the outcome of the Wind Energy Area designation, which they noted also seeks to bypass most of the current and historical Wabanaki Nation fishing grounds.
“Maine is setting an example for the rest of the nation for responsibly developing offshore wind, balancing the needs of coastal communities and wildlife protection with the urgency to address climate change — the greatest threat facing our woods, waters, trails, and coastlines,” said Jack Shapiro, climate and clean energy director at the Natural Resources Council of Maine.
“We are extremely pleased that BOEM has heard the concerns of fishermen and their union allies by excluding critical lobster grounds from the siting of offshore wind,” added Cynthia Phinney, president of the Maine AFL-CIO. “Offshore wind has the potential to transform our coastal economies with thousands of well-paying union jobs, make Maine more energy independent, and substantially cut our climate pollution, but it’s crucial that these projects are sited properly so that our fishing communities are protected.”
Last month, Mills announced that Sears Island in Searsport would be the site of a new designated port, where the wind turbines will be fabricated and assembled. Construction of the port is expected to take multiple years, with Mills estimating it could wrap up in 2029.
Moving forward, a lease auction will be held later this year for what will be some of the first floating offshore wind projects in the Gulf of Maine, the Natural Resources Council said in a news release.
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