MAINE MONITOR • January 25, 2025
Maine’s formal interest in developing ocean wind energy dates back to 2008, when former Gov. John Baldacci created an Ocean Energy Task Force to devise a strategy. In 2012, there was a $120 million plan from Statoil to float four, 3-megawatt wind turbines in state waters off Boothbay Harbor. But the political climate changed when Republican Paul LePage was elected governor. Frustrated by the maneuvering, Statoil pulled the plug on its project. Meanwhile, Principle Power, an American company that also once considered Maine but abandoned the effort in 2010 after complaining it was edged out by UMaine, christened a 48-megawatt floater off Scotland in 2021, the Kincardine Offshore Windfarm.