Federal officials rejected the Maine Department of Transportation's $456 million grant application to help build an offshore fabrication port for wind projects, complicating the state's planned buildout.
The proposed Sears Island offshore wind project was not included in the 44 projects selected on Oct. 21 by the US Department of Transportation to receive a total of $4.2 billion in funding from Bipartisan Infrastructure Law grant programs.
"We knew the grant program would be extremely competitive and that our application was ambitious," Bruce Van Note, Maine Department of Transportation commissioner, said in a statement. "We believe the result is a reflection of the fiercely competitive nature of this program and that it does not reflect, or undermine, the widely recognized need for this port, the strong merit of Maine's plan, or the vast economic and environmental benefits associated with port development."
In February, Maine Gov. Janet Mills designated Sears Island as the best site to construct a facility that could be used for "floating offshore wind fabrication, staging, assembly, maintenance and deployment." The site selection received backlash from some Maine lawmakers who objected to permitting the facility in sand dune areas and argued for the port to be built at an adjacent location known as Mack Point.
The Maine Department of Transportation recently released an analysis concluding that Sears Island is the best option for the offshore wind port. The Pre-Application Alternatives Analysis report said that the Mack Point location would be too expensive, environmentally harmful and complicated compared to Sears Island.
"It would be wrong to interpret this decision as a comment on the location of a port. Sears Island remains the best option for construction of a port for several economic, environmental and logistical reasons, as recently reaffirmed by the Alternatives Analysis," Paul Merrill, director of communications at Maine's transportation department, told S&P Global Commodity Insights.
In May, Merrill said construction of the port is expected to cost $590 million. Van Note said the state is examining "other opportunities to secure funding to advance this critical port infrastructure" after the grant application was denied. The state is still awaiting a decision on federal grant funding that would go toward the design and permitting process.
The state's grant application included plans for a $170 million Jones Act-compliant submersible barge that could be used to launch the foundations for the turbines in the Gulf of Maine.
Constructing an offshore wind port is crucial for the state to reach its goal of installing 3,000 MW of offshore wind capacity in federal waters by 2040. In September, the US. Department of the Interior announced plans to hold a lease sale for the Gulf of Maine offshore wind area, which could generate 13 GW if fully developed.