October 2024

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In September, commercial-scale offshore wind in the Gulf of Maine took important steps forward. On September 16, BOEM announced the Final Sale Notice (FSN) for offshore wind leasing on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) in the U.S. Gulf of Maine. The auction will be held on October 29, 2024 among a set of pre-selected companies that BOEM has identified as eligible developers. This is great news for our clean energy transition, but if you’re asking yourself, “Commercial wind in the Gulf of Maine?? Since when?” you’re probably not alone. 

Let’s zoom out and explain how we got here. 

In 2019, the Gulf of Maine Task Force, a group convened by Governor Chris Sununu of New Hampshire, met for the first time to discuss the future of offshore wind in the Gulf of Maine. Federal officials and elected Tribal, state, and local officials from ME, NH, and MA came together to begin charting the path forward for the development of our offshore wind resources. From there, in 2021, BOEM announced a leasing strategy for offshore wind that included identifying the offshore locations most suitable for development in the Gulf of Maine. After hearing from local stakeholders and developers, an initial large swath of the Gulf of Maine was shrunk down to the Final Wind Energy Area (WEA) that was released in March 2024 after a series of public meetings and comment periods. 

This final WEA reflected feedback from local residents, organizations, and policy makers, and excluded significant areas of the Gulf of Maine to avoid conflict with existing users, primarily fishermen. It is about 2 million acres and has the potential to generate 32 GW of offshore wind energy, enough to surpass local state targets.

In June, BOEM announced its intent to auction a set of lease areas in the final WEA. The announcement was for one million acres of the final WEA, broken up into eight lease areas capable of generating 15 GW of offshore wind. That could power over 5 million homes! Following the announcement, the public had the opportunity to weigh in on what should be considered during the auction and how BOEM should score developers along the way. This was our chance to tell the federal government that developers need to be environmentally conscious and must invest in our coastal communities. 

So, with all that history behind us, this new announcement is an important step forward. The FSN and the upcoming auction sets in motion the process that will determine which companies will develop offshore wind in the Gulf of Maine and how much they’ll pay to lease the waters off our coast.  Stay tuned for more updates on this leasing process, and how you can get involved!

Photo by Melissa Ferretti

New England Canadian Provinces Alliance (NECAPA), Sierra Club Maine’s Grassroots Network Team, is announcing their new campaign combatting high-impact hydropower in Canada: Dam Truth, “Stop the Greenwashing.” Concentrating on New England and the Canadian Provinces, the team is developing an educational campaign about the damage caused by mega dams (dams over 15m high), while also promoting green energy and climate justice. 

Mega dams have destroyed indigenous homelands across the globe. This webinar series will touch on the historic knowledge related to negative impacts of these dams, current scientific research, and will work to expose climate changing impacts hydropower has on the Arctic.

With two webinars left in their series, Rivers, Dams and Climate Change: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, we invite you to take part!

Last month, Nyalat Biliew, Sierra Club Maine's Grassroots Climate Action Organizer, was nominated for the Congressional Black Caucus’ Young, Gifted & Green 40 Under 40 Award. This honor recognizes environmental justice leaders under 40 from across the U.S.–including Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and other non-white individuals. These leaders come from various fields such as education, arts, policy, healthcare, social justice, storytelling, and clean energy, and they are all contributing to solutions for the climate crisis and dismantling environmental inequities.

Nyalat shared, "As someone who hasn't had many opportunities to reflect on or see my work recognized, especially on a national level, this nomination was deeply meaningful. My work has largely focused on local organizing in Maine, addressing the specific environmental justice challenges faced by immigrant communities who often face barriers in advocating for their own needs.

Receiving this award gave me the chance to represent my community and the work I've been doing with the Sierra Club. I had the honor of traveling to Washington, D.C. to accept the award and meet other environmental activists, which helped connect my local work to the broader national movement. Many people don't realize the unique challenges faced by Black and Brown communities in Maine, so it was a powerful moment to share our struggles and successes.

In addition to the awards ceremony, I attended the Environmental Justice Symposium at the University of Maryland, hosted by the Center for Community Engagement, Environmental Justice, and Health. The three-day event provided valuable insights into national issues like air pollution, lead contamination, and how marginalized communities are disproportionately affected. The discussions reinforced the importance of connecting our local efforts to the national fight for environmental justice. This experience also underscored the need for organizations like the Sierra Club to amplify the work of local organizers and offer them national recognition. It was a rewarding experience that helped me grow as an activist and community leader, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to represent Maine's unique environmental justice challenges on a larger stage."

Congratulations Nyalat, we are proud of you!

Graphic via Form energy

By David von Seggern, Sierra Club Maine Volunteer

Recently, there was a burst of media coverage on a proposed battery storage project near Lincoln, ME. The project is in the very earliest stages of planning, but what catches our attention is that it intends to use iron-air battery technology. This technology, long in development, seems poised for commercial deployment; and in this case it is being brought forth by Form Energy. The facility is planned to be able to supply to the grid 8,500 MWh of energy delivered at a rate of up to 85 MW. As a reference, the electrical load in Maine in 2022 was 34,970 MWh/day; thus the facility, in principle, could keep Maine going for about one-quarter of a day or supply about one-fourth of the electrical load over four days. 

Already, a battery storage facility is under construction near Gorham, ME, using proven lithium-battery technology. That facility, developed by Plus Power, will be able to provide to the grid 350 MWh of electrical energy delivered at a rate of up to 175 MW. Comparing their energy capacity, we see that the Lincoln facility, if fully built out, would supply nearly 25 times as much energy to the grid. Continue reading here.

This summer, Sierra Club's people-powered movement won the largest investment in climate action EVER! The passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022 put us on a path to cutting climate pollution 40 percent by 2030, while creating nine million family-sustaining jobs.

Since then, billions of dollars have been flowing into local communities to build new clean energy infrastructure, fight climate change, protect communities from pollution, and help families save tens of thousands of dollars in energy rebates.

The thing is, most people still don't know about this historic climate victory and the money that is available to them and their communities! Help us spread the word to your friends and neighbors and take the quiz here to learn more about the Inflation Reduction Act.

Photo by Victoria Berman on Unsplash

By Michael Trombley, Sierra Club Maine Volunteer

Now that it’s October, we can look forward to the first truly cold nights. It’s also the month when many of us begin to wonder, when is it time to turn on the heat? The green answer to this question is a simple one: wait as long as you can. Even if you have heat pumps or a wood stove, you’ll do the earth a favor if you embrace the cold.

Here are some tips to make it more enjoyable: 

Whatever works for you, enjoy the change of season. 

Do you have a green tip that you would like to have included in a future newsletter? Please share it with us here!

Photo by Megan Steele Photography

Here are some of the meetings and events we have coming up. We hope to see you soon!

• October 8 at 3pm: Advancement Team Meeting
  • Help us raise the crucial funds necessary for us to do our work.

• October 9 at 12pm: Volunteer Orientation
  • Learn how you can help protect Maine's environment.

• Events Team Meetings:
  • Help us organize events to educate and engage Mainers across the state.
    • October 10 at 12pm
    • October 24 at 12pm

• October 15 at 12pm: Clean Energy Team Meeting
  • Join our team and ensure a clean and just energy future for Maine, specifically focused on renewable energy development!

• October 22 at 6:30pm: Webinar: The Greenwashing of Hydro Power
  • Guest Speakers to include Gary Wockner, PhD, Exec Director, Save the Colorado, and Roberta Benefiel, Grand Riverkeeper Labrador, Newfoundland, and Labrador (Canada).

• October 28 at 4pm: Volunteer Support Team Meeting
  • Help recruit and orient new volunteers and ensure overall volunteer satisfaction.​​​

• Political Team Meetings 
  • Join us bi-weekly on Tuesdays to discuss the upcoming November election and endorsements! Email maine.chapter@sierraclub.org for more information. 

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Interested in helping to protect Maine’s environment? We invite you to join us at our next volunteer orientation—view our events calendar here! No matter your background, we have a role for you—no experience necessary.

We are always looks for photos from across the state to feature in our marketing materials. Professionals and amateurs alike are encouraged to submit images of Maine landscapes, nature, and wildlife. Please submit your photo here.

Questions? Email us at maine.chapter@sierraclub.org.