#windport

Offshore wind port siting raises new conflicts for coastal Mainers, environmental activists
Thu, 07/18/2024 - 9:15am

Ron Huber rifled through a thick folder full of decades of state environmental records outside a community hall in the tiny coastal Maine town of Searsport. For the longtime local conservation activist, the scene inside was a familiar one: dozens of neighbors, workers and environmentalists mingled over pizza and coffee, discussing the merits of a proposed industrial project that has potential to transform the local economy, but at the expense of a locally beloved natural area. This story...
Route 1 north of Searsport scheduled for large truck traffic carrying wind turbines through October
Fri, 07/12/2024 - 10:45am

The public is advised that wind turbines and other wind power components will be transported via big trucks from Mack Point in Searsport and bound for Washington and Somerset counties in the early morning hours, through October. Deliveries occur Monday-Friday. Outbound trucks leave the Mack Point terminal about 4:45 a.m. and are done by 7 a.m. This week and next, through July 19, there will be 10-12 component trailers per day (blades, nacelles, towers). Half will go to Down East Wind in the...
repurposed industrial site or undeveloped waterfront
Mack Point or Sears Island: Debate over state offshore wind port site continues
Wed, 06/26/2024 - 11:00am

SEARSPORT — The geographical distance between Mack Point and Sears Island on the northern end of Penobscot Bay is but a slingshot apart, but the gulf between the advocates for, and opponents of, siting an offshore wind port and assembly facility on Sears Island is sizable. Maine’s proposed Dirigo Atlantic Floating Offshore Wind Port is the largest — financially and environmentally impactful — potential development on Penobscot Bay that the state has considered in decades. In May, the Maine...
Sprague Energy promotes competing location at Mack Point in Searsport
Maine DOT seeks $456 million federal grant to help fund wind port on Sears Island
Fri, 05/17/2024 - 8:45pm

AUGUSTA - The Maine Department of Transportation said May 17 that it has applied for $456 million in grant funding from the federal government to help construct the East Coast's first floating offshore wind port on a portion of state-owned Sears Island that is reserved for port development. "Maine has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to help transform our economy, protect our environment, create good-paying jobs, and support the generation of clean, affordable, reliable energy for Maine and the...
‘This was not an easy decision, nor is it one that I made lightly’
Maine’s plan to site wind power port on Sears Island draws swift response, with support and opposition
Tue, 02/20/2024 - 8:30pm

SEARSPORT — The announcement made Feb. 20 by the State of Maine that is has chosen Sears Island and not Mack Point in Searsport as its preferred site for a port facility to support the floating offshore wind industry drew both praise and condemnation, as press releases and statements flowed in from a variety of stakeholders. The Maine Dept. of Transportation is anticipated to apply for state and federal permits later this year. Site selection for the port development, which began in earnest in...