The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has announced a determination of no competitive interest for a proposed floating wind research lease area offshore Maine.
The State of Maine is applying to develop a 9700-acre research site that would consist of up to 12 floating offshore wind turbines capable of generating up to 144MW of renewable energy.
As part of BOEM’s request for competitive interest (RFCI) in the Gulf of Maine, the body received complete submissions from two qualified entities. However, following a careful review of the submissions, BOEM concluded there was no competitive interest in the RFCI area due to concerns about commercial scale viability in the proposed research lease area.
The determination of no competitive interest means that a lease sale for the site will not be necessary.
While the decision does not guarantee that the State of Maine will receive a research lease, BOEM will now move forward to process the state’s research application.
Among the next steps will be initiating an environmental review of potential impacts from offshore wind leasing activities associated with the research lease.
The lease could be used to inform any future commercial offshore wind development in the Gulf of Maine.