January 26, 2021 — Gov. Janet Mills on Monday proposed a 10-year moratorium on new offshore wind projects in state-managed waters and other actions aimed at calming concerns among the fishing industry about her plan to create the nation’s first floating offshore wind research farm in the Gulf of Maine.
In a letter Friday to licensed commercial fishermen, the Democratic governor said she would propose the moratorium to the Legislature. It would protect fishing and recreational areas within three miles of coastal waters managed by the state, which she said are more heavily fished than federal waters. She also has directed her energy office to review offshore wind regulations, asking for input from fishermen about the site of the proposed array.
The research array, announced in November, is part of an ongoing offshore wind initiative announced in 2019 by Mills, who has made climate one of her main issues since being elected more than two years ago. A report from her office last November touted offshore wind as a significant opportunity for economic recovery from the coronavirus-induced recession. Mills did not provide a timeline for the project, but the state’s climate goals are to move to 80 percent renewable energy by 2030 and 100 percent by 2050.