A bill aiming to prohibit the permitting of an offshore wind energy project within the Monhegan Lobster Conservation Area, or within 10 nautical miles of the area, was dismissed by the U.S. State of Maine’s Energy, Utilities and Technology committee.
Namely, the proposed act would have impacted the University of Maine’s Aqua Ventus I project, which involves installing two turbines mounted on floating foundations approximately 2.5 miles south of Monhegan Island, Lincoln County, and 12 miles off the mainland. In May 2016, the U.S. Department of Energy added the Aqua Ventus I to the list of projects eligible to receive up to USD 40 million in funding if certain milestones are met.
If the bill had gotten the green light, the Aqua Ventus I project would have been put into a position to start the permitting process all over again and would not be on the list for the USD 40 million funding, according to Bangor Daily News .
After the review, the committee voted against the bill, saying that the relocation of the project in the middle of the permitting process could discourage similar clean energy efforts in Maine in the future.
The bill, An Act To Protect Monhegan Island by Limiting Wind Turbines , was introduced by Senator Dana L. Dow.
According to Senator Dow’s press release from February, the measure to prohibit the placement of a wind energy test area within 10 miles of the Monhegan Lobster Conservation Area is critical to safeguard the area’s legacy and is necessary to protect the population of migratory birds that use the island as an important landfall along the North Atlantic Flyway.