May 19, 2025 (Searsport, ME) — A new independent study has put numbers to the massive economic benefits a Maine-based offshore wind port would bring to the state, especially for Searsport and surrounding communities. The new Economic Impact Analysis conducted by Karp Strategies found that if an offshore wind port is constructed and used to Read More
Offshore Wind
Climate change is the greatest threat facing the wildlife, outdoor spaces, and coastlines we all cherish as Mainers. We already have the technologies needed to avoid the worst — but we must act now to move rapidly away from expensive and unreliable oil and gas.
Responsibly developing offshore wind in the Gulf of Maine will provide the large amounts of home-grown energy we need to power the future.
Mainers Would Face Higher Costs, Job Creation Would Slow Under US House Energy Plan
May 13, 2025 (Augusta, ME) – Homeowners and businesses in Maine would miss out on valuable cost-savings and jobs in one of the state’s fastest growing sectors would slow under the U.S. House of Representative’s energy budget proposals released over the past few days. The plans are part of a reconciliation package being debated by Read More
Proposal to Open Up Maine’s Ocean Waters to Oil and Gas Drilling Defies Explanation
April 30, 2025 (Augusta, ME) – The Trump Administration has announced a program that could allow offshore oil and gas drilling off the coast of Maine, prompting opposition from one of the state’s leading environmental groups. In an April 29 announcement, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said it will open up public comment on Read More
ISO-NE CEO Reiterates Offshore Wind Essential for Future Grid Reliability
March 25, 2025 (Washington, D.C.) — In prepared remarks to be delivered to Congress today, the head of the Independent System Operator of New England, (ISO-NE), the independent group responsible for managing the region’s electric grid and wholesale energy markets, reiterates the importance of developing offshore wind projects for future grid reliability. The appearance by Read More
How Offshore Wind Can Lower Electricity Prices in New England
The cold streaks Mainers have faced in recent weeks, combined with President Trump’s early actions blocking homegrown wind energy and the delivery of funding already approved by Congress to help our communities, provide an opportunity to revisit the connection between wind power and energy costs. January 21st was a great example of how offshore wind Read More
News & Noteworthy—October – December 2024
December 2024 NRCM Sustainable Maine Program Manager Vanessa Berry is quoted in this Portland Press Herald article about the Board of Environmental Protection voting in support of Maine’s new Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for Packaging rules. The bill to create Maine’s first-in-the-nation EPR for Packaging law, out of which these rules came, was signed into law Read More
Why NRCM is Supporting an Offshore Wind Port on Sears Island
The Natural Resources Council of Maine supports a proposed offshore wind (OSW) port on Sears Island because it is our best chance to create a new clean energy industry for Maine that helps us become more energy independent, reduce harmful air pollution, and create thousands of new good-paying jobs. In this post, we explain the Read More
Successful Gulf of Maine Offshore Wind Lease Sale Kicks Off a New Clean Energy Era
News release October 29, 2024 (Augusta, ME) – A new era for clean energy in New England kicked off today when the federal government announced the results of its first floating offshore wind lease sale in the Gulf of Maine. Four of the eight available lease areas were purchased by developers, including one in the northern Read More
Sales Notice Posted for Gulf of Maine Wind Projects
News Release September 16, 2024 (Augusta, ME) – The federal government today issued its final sale notice for the responsible development of offshore wind in the Gulf of Maine. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) notice sets October 29th as the date for its auction of lease areas for building floating offshore wind projects Read More
