Part of a Sustainable Future for New Hampshire

Offshore wind is the largest potential component for a safe, secure, and sustainable energy future in New Hampshire—free of the economic, environmental, and public health threats posed by fossil fuel and nuclear power pollution.

The Seacoast Anti-Pollution League has been actively researching wind potential and conducting outreach to community groups and organizations, and we’re very optimistic about the progress being made.

SAPL is also a key member of WindASSIST – an alliance of local and statewide groups promoting the transition of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard into a wind turbine research, fabrication, and maintenance facility.

								 								 America's first offshore wind farm started creating clean, renewable energy in 2016. Photo credit Deepwater Wind

NH STUDY ON WIND POWER

In 2014, SAPL initiated a state legislative study on the potential of offshore wind. The study involved several experts in the fields of energy and engineering in addition to state legislators, and it concluded that the wind resource off of New Hampshire’s coast has real potential to generate significant amounts of electricity. This potential is even greater if we consider collaborating with neighboring states. Here is an excerpt:

…it is clear that our neighbors to the north and the south are making serious efforts to develop the [offshore wind] industry. Massachusetts is one of the leaders in the country at the moment in this regard. It therefore behooves New Hampshire to become more involved in this potentially significant area of economic growth...

You can read the full findings and recommendations of the study in the Report of the Committee to Study Offshore Wind Energy and the Development of Other Ocean Power Technology.

2023 NH Dept of Energy Report: Wind in the Gulf of Maine

In 2023, the New Hampshire Department of Energy concluded that offshore wind in the Gulf of Maine has the potential to produce enough power to fully meet the needs of New England states for nearly 40% of the year and that 3,600 jobs could be created in New Hampshire alone. Read the full report »

BOEM recognizes MASSIVE POTENTIAL off our shores

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has designated 3.5 million acres of wind energy areas In the Gulf of Maine (see map). This area is available to lease for wind farm development as soon as 2024. That’s enough to generate 40 GW, or as much power as 32 Seabrooks! You can learn more and follow updates on BOEM’s Gulf of Maine web page

								 								 								 								 								 BOEM Gulf of Maine wind energy areas

What’s Happening Right Now

  • The State of Maine is moving forward with a full-scale floating turbine pilot project and a “research array” of a dozen floating turbines to study environmental impacts, and it has committed to provide 3,000 Megawatts (MW) of offshore wind power by 2040. That’s more than the total electricity that the state of Maine currently uses.
  • The Biden Administration/US Department of Energy has set a goal for the United States to generate 30,000 MW of offshore wind power by 2030 and 45,000 MW by 2035.
  • Offshore wind turbine technology has come a long way. The latest designs feature floating turbines which allow for greater power production, cheaper construction and installation, placement further offshore, and much less interference with marine and bird life.
  • European and Asian countries are already having success with offshore wind.

What you can do

With Governor Sununu's announced retirement, the state will be getting a new governor in 2025. We need to be getting offshore wind on ALL the candidates radar and press them to commit to procuring offshore wind - as ALL other Northeast coastal states have already done - in their first term in office. Thousands of megawatts of offshore wind will be made available to the regional power grid in coming years. New Hampshire needs to get on board with the bonanza, by setting a procurement goal for state utilities to purchase this increasingly lucrative power source.

TAKE ACTION: Go to gubernatorial campaign events in your region and ask the candidates: "Will you commit to procuring safe, sustainable offshore wind for state electric consumers, so that we can join other New England states already making use of this major new energy source for the region?"

FLOATING WIND TURBINES AROUND THE WORLD – OFF THE COAST AND ON THE GRID!

								 								 								 								 				VolturnUS/UMO 1/8 scale Turbine. Castine, Maine

VolturnUS/UMO 1/8 scale Turbine
Castine, Maine

								 WindFloat 8.4 MW Turbine being towed off Portugal

WindFloat 8.4 MW Turbine
Being towed off Portugal

								 								 								 7MW Hywind Turbines off the coast of Scotland, by the Norwegian company, Equinor

7MW Hywind Turbines by Equinor
Off the coast of Scotland