Undeveloped state land on Sears Island remains the best place to build an offshore wind port, according to a new study from the Maine Department of Transportation.
The 107-page alternatives analysis concluded that siting a port at the nearby Mack Point shipping terminal in Searsport would be too expensive, complicated and environmentally harmful compared to its Sears Island preference.
The analysis narrowed 23 different possible locations for the port down to the island and terminal.
It is the start of a lengthy state and federal environmental permitting process, said department deputy director Matt Burns.
"It's a practicability assessment that then will go into a much larger, comprehensive document that analyzes all the impacts, you know, for constructing a wind port at those sites," he said.
Burns was reached while in Copenhagen, Denmark, where he was touring that country's offshore wind industry with Gov. Janet Mills.
Opponents argue that building a new port on Sears Island will disturb wildlife and ruin open space and trails there. They've advocate for siting a port on Mack Point, owned by Sprague Energy.
But according to the analysis, the state's preferred port would cost about $525 million, compared to the $614 million price tag to retrofit Mack Point.
Building on Sears Island would avoid dredging, a top environmental concern. And the state would not have to pay rent for the terminal — estimated to cost at least $290 million over 50 years — or relocate a private rail line on the property, according to the report.
Even though the Mills administration has repeatedly stated Sears Island is the only practical place to develop, Burns said the report seriously examined every option.
"I think you'll find that it's far from a rubber stamp or anything like that. It's a detailed document that that has a tremendous amount of information in it," Burns said.
"I'd encourage everybody that is following the project and has their own criticisms about the work that the state's doing to really read it and and make that decision," he added.
The transportation department is now drafting a broader environmental impact analysis of the Sears Island project. And Maine may learn soon whether it will be awarded a $456 million federal grant to help build the port.
A coalition of environmental and labor groups including the Natural Resources Council of Maine and Maine State Building an Construction Trades Council, said the analysis marked "a critical next step" in the state's efforts to build a floating offshore wind port.
Constructing a port "will allow us to generate home-grown clean energy Maine needs to stabilize volatile and expensive electricity prices, create thousands of new good-paying, union jobs, and help protect our local communities from devastating storms," the groups said.
Searsport Town Manager James Gillway said town residents had been asking for the state's analysis for some time.
"I'm glad MDOT has released this information and shed some light on their proposal," Gillway said in a statement. "This is a big step for all of us in Searsport and the entire state of Maine."
But some critics of the project were upset that the analysis was published by the department without any public notice.
Rolf Olsen, vice president of the Friends of Sears Island, also served on a wind port advisory group that met six times between 2022 and 2023.
After the group disbanded, he was assured by department officials its former members would be informed when the analysis came out.
"You know, I have said all along that I would have total respect for a process that would be open and transparent. And they have assured us that every turn of the road that this would be the case," Olsen said.
"And this is yet another example of a process that has not been open and transparent," he added.
Meanwhile, Sprague Vice President Jim Therriault said he was disappointed the state did not give greater weight to the company's revised proposal to modify its port.
But the company hasn't given up on playing a role in the burgeoning ocean wind industry, Therriault added. And with an upcoming federal lease sale for wind energy plots in the Gulf of Maine, the company will have a better idea of how it might fit into future energy development.
"We haven't given up on this market, we think it is viable and our terminal can play a role in it," Therriault said. "Once we see how the market develops in the next week or two we will decide on the best path forward."
