New Hampshire Governor Christopher T. Sununu has requested the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to establish an intergovernmental offshore renewable energy task force for the state .
The purpose of the task force would be to facilitate coordination and consultation among federal, state and local governments on renewable energy commercial leasing proposals in federal waters off the coast of New Hampshire.
In the letter sent to Acting BOEM Director Dr. Walter Cruickshank on 2 January, Governor Sununu designated Matthew Mailloux of the New Hampshire Office of Strategic Initiatives as the primary point of contact regarding the request.
Mailloux is responsible for working with BOEM on establishing the task force and coordinating the involvement of state agencies and local governments.
Back in 2016, 350 New Hampshire and Seacoast Anti-Pollution League requested then Governor Maggie Hassan to make a formal request to BOEM for the formation of an offshore wind task force.
More than 2,000 signatories petitioned that the state further investigates offshore wind potential in the Gulf of Maine, which was reported to offer over 200GW of untapped capacity in the areas up to 50 miles off the coasts of New Hampshire, Maine and northeast Massachusetts.