The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has completed the US’s first floating offshore wind energy research lease in federal waters. It is for a floating project by the state of Maine.
The roughly 61km2 lease area, located about 52km off Maine on the US Outer Continental Shelf, could allow Maine to deploy up to 12 floating offshore wind turbines capable of generating up to 144MW of wind power, BOEM said.
The state will work with the University of Maine and its development partner, Diamond Offshore Wind, to develop the array.
The research array is to allow the state, fishing community, wildlife experts, offshore wind industry and others to conduct in-depth studies to thoroughly evaluate floating offshore wind.
Research conducted on the array will evaluate its compatibility with existing ocean uses and assess its potential effects on the environment, supply chains and job creation, said BOEM.
President Joe Biden's administration has set a goal of 15GW of floating offshore wind capacity by 2035.
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