PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 16, 2024
The Department of the Interior announced Monday that it will auction off wind leases for eight areas on the outer continental shelf of Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. The first auction of sites in the Gulf of Maine will take place on Oct 29. Officials said that the sites could produce as much as 13 gigawatts of energy – enough to power 4.5 million homes. The region offered for sale is roughly 120,000 acres smaller than an area initially proposed by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in April. The bureau aimed to avoid offshore fishing zones, vulnerable habitats and transportation routes, officials said.