Floating windmills off Monhegan update : UMaine’s New England Aqua Ventus 1 Offshore Wind Demonstration Project, off Monhegan Island

EA-2049: University of Maine’s New England Aqua Ventus 1, An Offshore Wind Advanced Technology Demonstration Project, Offshore Monhegan Island in the Gulf of Maine

SUMMARY

DOE is  funding the University of Maine to design, construct and operate a 12 MegaWatt (MW) offshore wind advanced technology demonstration project (i.e. New England Aqua Ventus 1) in the Gulf of Maine, approximately 2.5 miles south of Monhegan Island, Lincoln County, Maine and 12 miles off the mainland.  This project is also known as the Maine Aqua Ventus 1 project.

WHAT’S NEW

September 2016 – DOE intends to prepare an environmental assessment (EA) to evaluate the potential direct, indirect and cumulative impacts of the New England Aqua Ventus 1 project.
DOE anticipates initiating the public scoping process for the EA in Fall/Winter of 2016-2017 at which time DOE will be seeking public comments to help define the scope of environmental impacts and issues to be addressed in the EA.  It is also anticipated that public scoping informational meeting(s) would occur as part of the public scoping process.  Public scoping is a key component of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process and is used to provide an opportunity for the public to help define the scope of environmental impacts and issues to be addressed in depth in the EA.  All public comment opportunities will be posted below.

OVERVIEW

For more information on the U.S. Department of Energy’s Offshore Wind Advanced Technology Demonstration Projects, click here.