The Final Wind Energy Area (WEA) identified for potential offshore wind development in the Gulf of Maine is largely located away from habitats of higher importance to endangered North Atlantic right whales. This smart siting decision will help the industry advance responsibly in this new offshore wind region.
We need offshore wind, and we need to do it right. This kind of clean energy will help eliminate dangerous greenhouse gas emissions and create thousands of well-paying sustainable jobs. But as we fight climate change, we must avoid, minimize, and mitigate threats to ocean life in whatever ways we can.
North Atlantic right whales are highly endangered, and their survival is at serious risk due to a combination of vessel strikes and entanglements in fishing gear. Humans cannot cause even one right whale death or injury each year if the species is to avoid extinction. The…