A conceptual rendering shows what Maine’s offshore wind port on Sears Island could look like. Image by Moffatt & Nichol

The administration of Gov. Janet Mills has reaffirmed its support of Sears Island as the preferred site for Maine’s wind port, saying it will cost nearly $100 million less to build there than at the next-best location. 

The state Department of Transportation recently released a draft report that explains why it considers Sears Island the best of 23 possible locations for the wind port. It spells out the state’s offshore wind port goals, defines the minimum design criteria and other considerations to build a wind port and says Sears Island and nearby Mack Point are the two best options.

An opponent of the Sears Island site and a member of an advisory offshore wind group said he and at least one other group member were not alerted to the report and called it a “failure of process.”

Sears Island is the state’s preferred site and its advantages are emphasized in much of the 107-page report. Mills announced in February the decision to site the wind port at Sears Island to build, assemble and maintain floating offshore wind turbines hundreds of feet tall. The site would serve as a hub for ships delivering materials to build the turbines, and it would be the site of cranes, storage facilities and vehicles.

A backer of a competing plan at Mack Point said the state’s comparisons of various sites favored Sears Island.

“They came up with design criteria that’s perfect for Sears Island, then said, ‘Let’s try it in 23 places,'” said Jim Therriault, vice president of materials handling at Sprague Operating Resources LLC, which owns warehouses, liquid tank storage and dock frontage at Mack Point. “We think we can achieve the same functionality with a different design.”

Rolf Olsen, vice president of the board of the Friends of Sears Island, stands on the beach near where the state wants to build a wind port on Sears Island in Searsport. Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer, file

The state has cited money as a major reason for picking Sears Island: In the report it estimates a cost of $525 million to build a port, while nearby Mack Point would cost $614 million. The dollar amounts do not include land acquisition or other costs.

The Mills administration says costly and disruptive dredging would not be necessary at Sears Island, while it would be at Mack Point. And the state owns the 100 acres at Sears Island that would be used to build the port, saving more than $290 million over 50 years to lease property at Mack Point.

Maine has applied for a $456 million federal transportation grant to build the port at Sears Island.

Backers of the Sears Island site and its critics agree a port is needed to advance a wind energy industry in Maine, capitalizing on the Gulf of Maine and helping the state reach its targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Some Republicans in the Legislature have criticized wind energy generally, saying it’s not financially sound and that its benefits are overrated.

Opponents to the Sears Island selection say the state’s 100-acre site with woods, trails and access to Penobscot Bay should remain undisturbed. They say the state should instead build a port at Mack Point that already offers warehousing, liquid tank storage and dock frontage.

The Department of Transportation report says Sears Island and Mack Point will be further analyzed and will include an evaluation of preliminary detailed cost estimates and impacts to surface waters.

“Impacts to the natural environment are unavoidable for a project of this scope and significance, and the state has weighed several factors into its identification of Sears Island as the most preferred alternative,” the report said.

The state is looking to develop an “efficient and versatile port” at a cost of between $500 million and $750 million that is attractive to future offshore wind developers over the 50-year design life, it said.

Sprague has pitched its Mack Point Terminal, which offers 100 acres separate from current activities, a base launching dock for a semi-submersible barge or Tug Dock device used to install offshore wind platforms, and a second large vessel dock for Sprague’s bulk and liquid operations that can also serve as a backup dock.

Rolf Olsen, vice president of the board of Friends of Sears Island, which manages a portion of the island set aside for conservation, and an opponent of the Sears Island proposed site, said the Offshore Wind Port Advisory Group of which he is a member was not informed about the report’s release. “People have been waiting since July for this,” he said.

Paul Merrill, a spokesman for the Department of Transportation, responded by saying the report was posted online Oct. 8.

The state considered availability of land, the ability to build a port, how functional a port would be and cost. The factors were applied to seven alternatives that met the minimum design criteria: Cousins Island, Mitchell Field, Estes Head Terminal, Mack Point, Sears Island, a Sears Island-Mack Point hybrid and the “Sprague Alternative” on Mack Point where Sprague operates an energy and port services company.

Other sites being considered were Portland Pipeline Terminal Pier and Turner’s Island LLC in South Portland; Portland Yacht Services, Maine State Pier, Merrill’s Marine Terminal and Union Wharf in Portland; Schooner Wharf in Rockland; Mitchell Field in Harpswell; Mason Station Power Plant and Maine Yankee Power plant, both in Wiscasset; Bath Iron Works in Bath; Breakwater Terminal and Estes Head Terminal in Eastport; Cianbro in Brewer; Cousins Island in Yarmouth; Front St. Shipyard in Belfast; GAC Chemical in Searsport; Sprague North and Verso Paper Mill in Bucksport.

Criteria set by the state include a minimum of 100 acres in a usable configuration, a minimum of 1,500 feet of waterfront that can be developed and minimum access channel water depth of 35 feet and a width of 600 feet.