Feds pick offshore wind development area for N.E.

PORTLAND, Maine — The federal government on Friday designated a large area off the New England coast for offshore wind production development, setting the stage for a possible lease sale within the Gulf of Maine.

The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said in a statement that the New England zone, which renewable energy advocates have identified as crucial for the growth of wind power, “avoids important areas for lobster fishing, North Atlantic right whale habitat, and other important fishing areas and habitats.”

Maine Governor Janet Mills, and three Maine lawmakers — Republican Sen. Susan Collins, independent Sen. Angus King, and Democratic Rep. Chellie Pingree — also issued a joint statement saying the designated area “preserves vital fishing grounds and seeks to minimize potential environmental and ecological impacts to the Gulf of Maine.”

The move came a day after the country's first commercial-scale offshore wind farm opened off Montauk Point, New York. Environmental groups cheered the announcement, but some members of the commercial fishing industry, which has opposed wind development in areas where they trap lobsters, said they still have concerns about locating offshore wind in the area.

“There are still too many unanswered questions about the impacts of offshore wind on the marine environment, commercial fishermen and our fishing heritage,” said Kevin Kelley, a spokesperson for the Maine Lobstermen's Association, a large fishing trade group.

Kelley said the organization still believes no part of the Gulf of Maine should be “industrialized with offshore wind.”