Last week, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced that they will hold an auction of 8 offshore wind energy sites in the Gulf of Maine. The auction will occur on October 29th, 2024. The 8 sites total over 850,000 acres and are shown below. A higher-resolution version can be found HERE.
The Maine Coast Fishermen's Association has been in firm opposition to any energy development in the Gulf of Maine for years. In 2018, we came out against drilling for oil off our coast and supported Representative Pingree when she introduced a bill to prohibit offshore drilling in the Gulf of Maine in 2019.
When the focus shifted to offshore wind development, MCFA's board of directors took a vote in 2020 to oppose offshore wind development until it could be shown not to have negative impacts on our ocean ecosystem or our fishing communities. MCFA has not changed that stance and still adheres to the belief that there are better ways to hit renewable energy goals than developing the ocean ecosystem.
With that said, we have done our job of providing fishermen with the opportunities to get their voices heard in the process and have worked diligently to ensure our staff are up to speed on everything happening in the Gulf from the project off Monhegan, to the research array off Portland, to the federal commercial leasing process we are in the midst of.
Below is an update from Emily Coffin, who has been MCFA's lead on this issue. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out.
-Ben
What has happened so far?
The selected areas are a result of years of meetings, conversations, and data modeling that BOEM and its sub-agencies have spearheaded. State committees, task forces, NGOs, and others have spent hours discussing floating offshore wind in the Gulf of Maine. In the siting and mapping process, the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association ensured that our fishermen’s concerns were heard and important fishing grounds were protected by correcting data that was being used in models and facilitating meetings between BOEM and fishermen.
Letter writing, public meetings, data modeling workshops, and one on one conversations with BOEM helped make this map much better than where it started. It still isn’t good, offshore energy development doesn't belong in the Gulf of Maine, but ultimately the work and energy many of you put into this process was impactful.
The Bidding Process
Oh boy, this is kinda a weird and new process for those of us who are neck-deep in fisheries policy and only dipping our toes in Ocean Energy Managment. This podcast from "The Indicator" from NPR about the bidding process that took place (and kinda failed) in the Gulf of Mexico was pretty helpful and only 8 minutes long.
Ultimately, there will be a “mock auction’ on October 24th, 2024, for bidders to test bidding software. On October 29th at 9am, BOEM will hold the real auction, which they say could take one day or potentially several days. The minimum bid will be $50 an acre, with some area totals at a minimum of $4.8 million and others at a minimum of $6.2 million. If a bidder wins an area, they are required to put down a $2 million deposit.
BOEM has previously stated that they will include lease stipulations, or development requirements, with some areas. Examples of these stipulations include prohibiting development in the transit corridors between lease areas or specific layout orientations. BOEM may also require developers to conduct baseline data on endangered mammal activity and habitats.
BOEM is also offering bidding credits, which are financial incentives that encourage developers to make monetary commitments to onshore and state interests. This can help create a better bid for an area. BOEM calculates a certain percentage of the lease price to determine the credit. A bidding credit could be a promise to develop a community benefit fund, a fishery investment fund to compensate fishermen for lost gear, or a workforce development sector to train laborers in offshore wind technology, port construction, etc. If a company opts for a bidding credit, they will have a leg up in the auction.
What’s to Come?
We don’t know how the bidding process will unfold. Projects in Mass and southern New England have been abandoned or renegotiated and auctions in the Gulf of Mexico have had limited success. State interest in New England is high with Massachusetts and Maine eager for offshore wind to get renewable energy into the grid and legislation has been passed in both states that will require ratepayers to pay a premium for that to happen.
Currently, there are 14 entities that are legally, technically, and financially qualified to bid. Once a company wins a site, BOEM will still be in charge, along with other agencies, in the Construction and Operation approval process.
The two lease areas closest to the State of Maine are shown below. They neighbor Cashes Ledge, a perennially closed habitat area and the Lobster Management closure for the protection of North Atlantic Right whales. The yellow box represents the State’s Research Lease, which was approved earlier this year. These are the two areas that we are most focused on at MCFA. But other fishing groups and businesses are very concerned about the impact development off of Cape Cod will have on important habitat and fishing business access.
While this has been a long process, we are still only a few steps away from the starting line. There will be negotiations on prices, on areas, on equipment, and on community mitigation. We will keep you informed as all of this continues to move forward in the Gulf of Maine.
-Emily
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