Wabanaki leaders list concerns with potential offshore wind development in Maine
Maine Public | By Nicole Ogrysko
Published May 11, 2023
Federal officials from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management were in Bangor this week to gather feedback from state officials, fishermen and tribal members about potential offshore wind development projects that may be sited in the Gulf of Maine.
Wabanaki leaders say they have a long list of questions about offshore wind development, and that they hope they've been invited early enough into the planning process to have their concerns heard and mitigated.
Passamaquoddy member and attorney Corey Hinton said the tribe has not developed an official position but is skeptical, especially after plans to develop hydro-power in the region have failed in the past. Any offshore wind development near Eastport would likely bring negative health, economic, religious and cultural impacts to tribal resources, he added.
"We have unceded fishing rights within the salt water in the precise places where the United States is now planning to site these facilities," Hinton said. "And so there's significant concerns around the direct conflict with tribal fishing rights."
Leaders within the Penobscot Nation and the Houlton Band of Maliseets said they too have environmental and cultural concerns and that the tribes have little additional capacity within their natural resources offices to study the proposals.
Federal officials are expected to visit Wabanaki territory later this week.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said it tentatively plans to name and finalize specific wind energy areas in the Gulf of Maine for commercial lease by the end of this year. The state of Maine has also submitted a lease application for a separate research array, which BOEM officials are evaluating.
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https://www.mainepublic.org/environment-and-outdoors/2023-05-11/wab...
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Maine Center For Public Interest Reporting – Three Part Series: A CRITICAL LOOK AT MAINE’S WIND ACT
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(excerpts) From Part 1 – On Maine’s Wind Law “Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine if the law’s goals were met." . – Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, August 2010 https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/From Part 2 – On Wind and Oil Yet using wind energy doesn’t lower dependence on imported foreign oil. That’s because the majority of imported oil in Maine is used for heating and transportation. And switching our dependence from foreign oil to Maine-produced electricity isn’t likely to happen very soon, says Bartlett. “Right now, people can’t switch to electric cars and heating – if they did, we’d be in trouble.” So was one of the fundamental premises of the task force false, or at least misleading?" https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-swept-task-force-set-the-rules/From Part 3 – On Wind-Required New Transmission Lines Finally, the building of enormous, high-voltage transmission lines that the regional electricity system operator says are required to move substantial amounts of wind power to markets south of Maine was never even discussed by the task force – an omission that Mills said will come to haunt the state.“If you try to put 2,500 or 3,000 megawatts in northern or eastern Maine – oh, my god, try to build the transmission!” said Mills. “It’s not just the towers, it’s the lines – that’s when I begin to think that the goal is a little farfetched.” https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/flaws-in-bill-like-skating-with-dull-skates/
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Hannah Pingree on the Maine expedited wind law
Hannah Pingree - Director of Maine's Office of Innovation and the Future
"Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine."
https://pinetreewatch.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/
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