Wind

US issues floating wind research lease to Maine, kickstarting development for 15GW sector

State and commercial and technical partners Mitsubishi's Diamond Offshore and University of Maine plan on 144MW floating array

. Janet Mills, governor, Maine.
. Janet Mills, governor, Maine.Photo: International Trade Administration/Flickr
US Offshore Wind Editor, Recharge

The US recently granted the New England state of Maine a research lease for the development of what may be the nation’s first floating wind array, kickstarting a gigascale industry in the Gulf of Maine.

US offshore energy regulator Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced its approval of the environmental assessment (EA) of the 9,637-acre (39km2) research site in federal waters some 23 miles (37 km) southeast of Portland.

EA approval allowed BOEM to issue the research lease to the state, which now has 30-days to decide to accept or not.

"Offshore wind offers our state a tremendous opportunity to harness abundant clean energy in our own backyard, to create good-paying jobs and drive economic development, and to reduce our over-reliance on fossil fuels and fight climate change,” said governor Janet Mills.

Mills has set a target of 3GW by 2040 for the state of 1.38 million that expects to see load surge in coming years as Mainers move towards electric vehicles and heat pumps.

Maine is also positioning itself as the hub of a regional floating wind industry, and last month BOEM proposed lease sales totalling over 1 million acres (4,047km2) holding some 15GW.in the Gulf of Maine.
The WEAs total about two million acres (8,093 km2) and ranges from 23 miles (51km) to 92 miles offshore Maine, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. Development in the areas is expected to feed the climate and energy ambitions of southern New England and New York.

“This offer of a lease is a major milestone in our effort to embrace these significant economic and environmental benefits for Maine and Maine people,” Mills said, adding that her administration is reviewing the lease.

Maine Research Array

Mitsubishi-owned Diamond Offshore Wind (DOW) and technology partner the University of Maine (UMaine) aim to install the 10-turbine, 144MW Maine Research Array (MeRA) on the lease to investigate the impacts of development in the Gulf of Maine’s ecologically rich waters.

“This is an important step in the State of Maine's prudent approach to comprehensive research and analysis of floating offshore wind prior to commercial scale development in the Gulf of Maine,” said Chris Wissemann, CEO of Diamond Offshore Wind.

Turbines as large as 15MW will be deployed atop UMaine’s patented VolturnUS concrete hulls based on bridgebuilding technology that can be readily produced from local materials and labour, said Habib Dagher, executive director of the UMaine Composites Center, which has been the driving force behind the project.
Dagher has told Recharge that the array may be installed as soon as 2029, likely before floating wind takes off in the deep waters off California.

The Maine Research Array would be the first project to utilise an offshore wind port facility in the state, identified by the Mills’ administration at Searsport, about 110 miles (177 km) northeast of commercial centre Portland.

No final decision has been made on Searsport, though, and other sites are being looked at as well.

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Published 31 May 2024, 21:55Updated 31 May 2024, 22:28
AmericasUSMaineJanet Mills Diamond Offshore Wind