SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine — A deep water wind farm off Maine’s coast moved closer to reality Thursday as state and federal officials got a more detailed look at a Norwegian energy company’s proposal.
Statoil North America Inc., a division of the Norwegian company Statoil ASA, submitted an application in October for a commercial lease to the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management for an area of ocean that’s about 22 square miles for full assessment of environmental impacts, sea bed conditions and wind speeds. The lease area is about 12 nautical miles offshore of the Boothbay area.
The eventual size of the “Hywind Maine” project would be narrowed down to an area of between 2.32 and 3.86 square miles.
The official interest by a major industry player in offshore wind immediately accelerates the potential development of the sector in Maine. The state, largely through the efforts of private industry and the University of Maine, has been developing prototypes, studying environmental and commercial issues off the coast and setting up the process for approving such projects.
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