MAINE PUBLIC • May 3, 2022
A wide coalition of New England conservation groups is calling on federal regulators for a rigorous review of the potential effects of offshore wind-farms on Gulf of Maine ecosystems and fisheries. And they want that effort made before specific wind sites are proposed - which the feds did not do when planning wind-lease areas in southern New England. Some 18 groups from Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine signed on to the effort. "Yes, we need to act expediently, but that doesn't mean we should act foolishly or rashly or cause harm," says lvy Frignoca, the Casco Baykeeper. She says the groups signing the letter do support the development of offshore wind to fight climate change. The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is convening a Gulf of Maine wind task force in two weeks.