AUGUSTA, Maine — The Maine Senate on Monday night passed a proposal from Gov. Janet Mills to exempt an offshore wind terminal on Sears Island from coastal sand dune protection rules.
But the 21-13 vote came after the House of Representatives delivered the Democratic governor a setback by opposing the bill last week in an 80-65 vote. Each chamber will have a chance to take up the bill again, but the difference between chambers does not bode well for its odds of passage.
The debate pitted several Democrats and Republicans against party colleagues, with Sen. Chip Curry, D-Belfast, arguing the bill is needed to help a project that will deliver a needed economic boost to his region while Sen. Nicole Grohoski, D-Ellsworth, opposed the bill by expressing a desire for more time to consider the plan and potential consequences. Grohoski and Sen. Craig Hickman of Winthrop were the lone Democrats to vote against the bill, while Republican Sens. Rick Bennett of Oxford, Stacey Guerin of Glenburn and Matt Pouliot of Augusta supported it.
Mills unveiled her bill last month after she announced in February the state would use Sears Island as a staging ground for the state’s first offshore wind port that could become operational by 2029. The Maine Department of Transportation said the exemption is needed to affect only one dune that is not naturally occurring and that formed due to a jetty placement.
Mills noted the deepwater port is key to Maine’s climate goals that include using 100 percent renewable energy by 2040. Mills spokesperson Ben Goodman previously said without this bill or language in another one, the state “would lose a once-in-a-generation opportunity” to create jobs, generate clean energy and “protect our environment and the health of Maine people from the ravages of climate change.”
An alliance of conservationists, conservatives and tribes argued for using Mack Point instead of Sears Island for the wind port because it is developed and privately owned. Each site had a development price tag between $400 million to $500 million, but Mills said Mack Point would cost more due to its private ownership and challenges with dredging and other issues.
About two-thirds of Sears Island, which covers 941 acres and is the largest undeveloped island in Penobscot Bay, is conserved, while the state had previously reserved 330 acres as a “transportation parcel” for potential use as a cargo and container port.