Maine Fishermen’s Forum Wind Energy Seminar
Agenda for Thursday March 5 (Updated 1-16-20)
9:30 am – 9:45 am —Introduction and agenda
9:45 am – 11:15 am: Fisheries and Offshore Wind in the Gulf of Maine
- Renewable energy goals:
- What are our overall regional energy needs?
- Maine’s (and New England’s) renewable energy goals.
- Gulf of Maine wind resource, vs. land-based wind or other renewables.
- Overview of current development status (Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
task force, Maine Offshore Wind Initiative).
- Fisheries and wind co-existence:
- Overview of fishery issues.
- New England Fishery Management Council’s role, perspective, and participation.
- Floating technologies:
- Construction.
- Siting—installation, space occupied, mooring systems, fixed vs. floating turbines.
- Cabling—likely points of landfall, dredging/routing issues, potential “backbones.”
- 15-minute Q&A
11:15 am – 11:30 am – Break
11:30 am – 1:00 pm: What is coming and where can the fishing industry engage?
- What’s happening in Maine related to offshore wind?
- Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Task Force:
- Identifying the best ocean sites for wind energy platforms.
- Coordination among states.
- Maine’s Aqua Ventus project: status update, future plans.
- Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Task Force:
- Permitting for Offshore Wind – State and federal:
- Federal BOEM process:
- How NMFS is engaged in consultation.
- State Process:
- State vs. federal waters:
- Aqua Ventus/Maine process, and how it differs from federal process.
- Cable routes from sea to shore – into Maine, or not into Maine.
- State vs. federal waters:
- Federal BOEM process:
- Progression of wind energy development in southern New England and the mid-Atlantic:
- What is the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance?
- What is happening in offshore wind to the south.
- Impacts and concerns of fishermen in those regions.
- Role of Fisheries Liaisons.
- 15-minute Q&A
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm: Lunch
2:00 pm – 4:00 pm: What can we learn from experiences in other areas?
- Several panelists will speak of their experience with wind energy projects and firms. They’ll
relate the most important lessons, from a fisheries perspective, in how to engage in the
development process. - The last hour of this session will be a moderated Q&A for the audience to ask questions
of any of the entire day’s seminar’s panelists.