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Matthew Burns is the executive director of the Maine Port Authority.
An active seaport since the 1700s, the Port of Searsport is among the most versatile port sites on the East Coast. For decades, Sears Island has been seen as one of the best sites for a deepwater port on the eastern seaboard, which is why a portion of the island has been reserved for port development for many years.
In March 2020, Gov. Janet Mills directed the Maine Department of Transportation to study the Port of Searsport to assess needs to support Maine’s offshore wind industry. The study evaluated various locations in the Port of Searsport for an offshore wind port, including Mack Point and an area of state-owned Sears Island.
In March 2022, MaineDOT created an Offshore Wind Port Advisory Group to advise the state on port development. This group, on which I served, held public meetings with state and local stakeholders, assessed state offshore wind efforts, and toured port facilities around Maine to inform its work.
Based on these studies, and using all available information, analysis, and stakeholder input through the advisory group, Gov. Mills announced in February that the most feasible and cost-effective location for an offshore wind port in Maine is on Sears Island.
With this port project, Maine has an unprecedented opportunity to be a leader in global efforts in floating offshore wind, building on years of research and development by the University of Maine and the advancing need for deepwater floating turbine technology to harness the strongest winds far offshore.
The port also presents a transformational moment in Searsport for economic development across the community, as the construction on Sears Island should create opportunities for further investment around the Port of Searsport, including on nearby Mack Point.
The state has objectively and thoroughly considered proposals for Mack Point and found its physical and logistical constraints, need for significant dredging, and increased costs to taxpayers for land leasing and port construction would result in an expensive and inferior port for Maine compared to a versatile, purpose-built port on Sears Island.
Some key differences between the sites include:
A Sears Island port can be designed to allow for construction, assembly, and launch of offshore wind turbines simultaneously, a critical port need identified for floating offshore wind. In comparison, the size, design, and layout of the proposed Mack Point concept would not allow these activities to happen at the same time.
A Sears Island port would feature 1,500 feet of straight wharf that is needed to support floating offshore wind construction, assembly, and launch needs. This wharf length and shape does not exist in the Mack Point proposal.
A purpose-built facility at Sears Island would include a cargo pier rated at 6,000 pounds per square foot — the standard for modern ports to handle today’s offshore wind components. Proposals for Mack Point include utilizing its existing cargo pier rated at 1,000 pounds per square foot, which — while adequate for current onshore wind components — is inadequate for offshore wind.
The Sears Island proposal does not require dredging, while Mack Point will. Recent published estimates now claim 61,000 cubic yards of dredging is needed for Mack Point, an amount more than double the dredging proposed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for channel maintenance in the Port of Searsport.
Lastly, state-owned Sears Island would not require lease payments. Published reports indicate Sprague Energy, the private landowner of Mack Point, would request an annual lease payment between $4 million and $6 million from the state for 25 years. This would commit Maine taxpayers to up to $150 million for land leasing before construction of the port begins.
These critical differences point to the conclusion that the port Maine needs to establish our state as an offshore wind leader doesn’t work at Mack Point.
In the coming months, in preparation for forthcoming state and federal permitting, a thorough analysis of all port alternatives will be prepared for public review and comment. We look forward to continued discussions with all interested parties in this important project once that analysis is available later this year.
As Gov. Mills said in February, the decision to select Sears Island was not made lightly. Over the last three years, the state’s studies, evaluations, engagement with stakeholders, and consideration of other port options — including Mack Point — have found that Sears Island is the best site for Maine to build an offshore wind port that can realize the considerable economic, environmental, and energy opportunities before us.