The Maine Ocean Energy Task Force submitted its final report (pdf) with detailed appendices (pdf), to Governor Baldacci on December 31, 2009. (We discussed earlier drafts of this proposal in this previous post.)
OETF Co-Chairperson Beth Nagusky,
Director of Innovation and Assistance at the Maine Department of Environmental
Protection,
has indicated that The Governor's Office will submit draft legislation to
implement the OETF recommendations early in the legislative session.
Key findings of the Report include
recommendations that Maine:
- Make a major commitment to development of offshore wind, tidal, and wave power;
- Commit to a goal of installation of 5 gigawatts (5,000 megawatts) of offshore wind energy generating capacity in Maine’s coastal waters and adjoining federal waters by 2030, and to a goal of timely and efficient development of tidal energy resources at optimal locations in Maine’s coastal waters, including but not limited to those in the Passamaquoddy Bay region;
- Improve the siting, permitting and governance framework for renewable ocean energy development;
- Move aggressively to support strengthening Maine's current out-dated transmission and distribution infrastructure, incorporating smart-grid technologies, and explicitly recognize in law the need for new transmission and distribution capacity to achieve the State’s wind power and energy conversion goals; and
- Support the financing and development of renewable energy goals by requiring the Maine Public Utilities to issue a Request for Proposal for renewable ocean energy generation where the rate impact is reasonable.
For more information about the
Ocean Energy Task Force and offshore development opportunities in Maine, contact Pierce Atwood's Lib Butler