Maine’s governor, Janet Mills, has announced that the state has selected a section of Sears Island reserved for port development as its preferred site for a facility to support floating offshore wind.
State-owned Sears Island is a 941-acre parcel off the coast of Searsport. The site selected for the project is expected to be about 100 acres. The proposed port would be a purpose-built facility for fabrication, staging, assembly, maintenance and deployment.
“For more than two years, my administration has evaluated Sears Island and Mack Point thoroughly and with an open mind, recognizing that each site has its own set of benefits and its own set of drawbacks,” says Mills.
“In carefully considering all of these, I believe that, on balance, Sears Island is the best choice for an offshore wind port because it is already owned by the state, designated for the purpose of port development, will cost less in the short-term and long-term, and is expected to result in less environmental harm.”
Estimated port construction cost is approximately $500 million.
