DOE is proposing to authorize the expenditure of federal funding by the University of Maine to design, construct, and commission an offshore wind energy demonstration project called New England Aqua Ventus I. New England Aqua Ventus I would consist of one turbine on a floating foundation in the Gulf of Maine, approximately 2.5 miles south of Monhegan Island, Lincoln County, Maine and 12 miles off the mainland. Additional project activities and/or potential impacts from the project could occur in or near Boothbay, Boothbay Harbor, Brewer, Searsport, Eastport, and/or Monhegan Island, Maine.

An Environmental Assessment will be prepared by DOE pursuant to the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). DOE hosted two virtual public scoping informational meetings on May 26, 2021. Interested persons were invited to attend these informational meetings to learn more about the project. DOE and University of Maine staff presented an overview of the project. After the presentation, project representatives were available to answer questions from the public posted via the online chat function. Please note, the informational meetings did not document formal project comments and were for informational purposes only.

DOE is unable to post the recordings of the public scoping meetings. The presentation and the referenced documents from the public scoping meetings can be found above.