MaineDOT considers location for new $500-million wind port project in Searsport

The Maine Department of Transportation (MaineDOT) held an open house in Searsport to present three potential location sites for its new $500 million wind port facility project on Wednesday. MaineDOT said planning teams are considering placing the facility in one of three central locations: on Sears Island, on Mack Point Peninsula, or in a hybrid location. MaineDOT Director of Communications Paul Merrill said, "The big downsides of Mack Point are the cost of leasing land that we don’t own. And the cost financially and environmentally of doing dredging to accommodate the facility," Merrill said. "Sears Island—the state owns the land, and it would be no dredging. But, of course, there are voices in the discussion that don’t want us to develop the land that we own there."