This will be updated.
Federal regulators have made a final designation of roughly 2 million acres in the Gulf of Maine where offshore wind turbines can be deployed to help provide power to New England.
The boundary set by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management does not include any part of the federal lobster management area 1. That fishing area extends from state waters about three miles offshore to about 40 miles. The closest the designated federal wind energy area comes to Maine’s coast is just outside the fishing zone.
The Maine Lobstermen’s Association said Friday that it appreciates that the fishing zone is excluded from the wind area approved by BOEM.
But it said that it remains “steadfast” in its position that industrial wind power development does not belong anywhere in the Gulf of Maine.
“There are still too many unanswered questions about the impacts of offshore wind on the marine environment, commercial fishermen and our fishing heritage,” the association said.
The designated wind area extends to about 23 miles east of Cape Cod.
The wind area avoids important grounds for lobstering, North Atlantic right whale habitat, and other fisheries and habitats, federal officials said. The designated area is approximately 43 percent smaller than a draft proposal area that federal officials announced last fall.
A coalition of Maine environmental groups and construction-trade unions on Friday said the decision is good for fishermen, workers and the environment.
“Offshore wind has the potential to transform our coastal economies with thousands of well-paying union jobs, make Maine more energy independent, and substantially cut our climate pollution, but it’s crucial that these projects are sited properly so that our fishing communities are protected,” said Cynthia Phinney, President of the Maine AFL-CIO.
