Turbines from Dominion Energy’s wind project off Virginia Beach. (Photo by Sarah Vogelsong/Virginia Mercury)
The Governor’s Energy Office on Friday submitted its strategic plan for delivering affordable and reliable energy while meeting the state’s goal of 100% clean electricity by 2040. A key component of the plan, which was delivered to the Legislature, is developing offshore wind — the future of which remains in flux with the incoming administration of President Donald Trump.
Supported by a technical report, the Maine Energy Plan outlines strategies for reducing costs while highlighting investments in homegrown clean energy. The plan is predicated on Maine developing 300 megawatts of offshore wind in the Gulf of Maine by 2040.
“For too long, Maine has been heavily reliant on imported fossil fuels to heat our homes, run our businesses, and power our economy,” said Dan Burgess, director of the Maine Governor’s Energy Office. “This over-reliance has made our state vulnerable to steep price increases driven by global markets, as we’ve experienced in recent years.”
The plan was unveiled days before the inauguration of Trump, who on the campaign trail, frequently vowed to end the offshore wind industry as soon as he returned to the White House. The Associated Press reported this week that the president-elect has already tasked a member of Congress with drafting an executive order to “halt offshore wind development from Rhode Island to Virginia for six months so the incoming interior secretary could review how leases and permits were issued.”
It is unclear if the ban will extend to the Gulf of Maine, where four offshore lease areas were sold by the U.S. Department of Interior in October to two companies, Avangrid Renewables and Invenergy NE Offshore Wind.
Together, the lease areas have the potential to power more than 2.3 million homes, according to the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, and are a key feature in the state’s energy agenda.
In 2023, Gov. Janet Mills set the ambitious goal of having 100% clean energy by 2040. Sen. Mark Lawrence (D-York), who co-chairs the Legislature’s Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee, is sponsoring a bill that would enshrine that goal into law.
The technical report used to inform the strategic plan, produced by Boston-based The Brattle Group, showed that achieving the state’s clean energy goals is possible, but some strategies for doing so could be more cost-effective and reliable than others.
It also identified offshore wind as a key energy generation source to help meet Maine’s long-term energy and reliability needs. The Governor’s Energy Office report notes, “Responsible and sustainable development of offshore wind is essential to meet Maine’s growing electricity demand as well as the state’s clean energy, climate, and economic development goals.”
(Graph by The Brattle Group)
In a joint statement, Lawrence and Melanie Sachs of Freeport, who co-chair the Legislature’s Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee, said they “look forward to diving into the details of the technical report which underpins this plan as the Energy Committee considers proposals to stabilize electricity rates, reduce emissions and grow clean jobs in Maine this session.”
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