PORTLAND, Maine — The federal government issued on Monday the nation’s first floating offshore wind research lease to the state of Maine, comprising about 23 square miles (60 square kilometers) in federal waters.

The state requested the lease from the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management for a floating offshore wind research array with up to a dozen turbines capable of generating up to 144 megawatts of renewable energy in waters nearly 30 miles (48 kilometers) southeast of Portland, Maine.

The research array will use floating offshore wind platforms designed by the University of Maine and deployed by partner Diamond Offshore Wind. But construction is not likely for several years.

The research is key to growing the ocean wind energy industry in Maine.

Democratic Gov. Janet Mills signed a bill last year that aims to see Maine procure enough energy from offshore wind turbines to power about half its electric load by 2040, and the state has selected a site to build, stage and deploy the turbine equipment. In the next decade, University of Maine researchers envision turbine platforms floating in the ocean beyond the horizon, stretching more than 700 feet (210 meters) skyward and anchored with mooring lines.

“Clean energy from offshore wind offers an historic opportunity for Maine to create good-paying jobs, reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, and fight climate change by cutting greenhouse gas emissions,” Mills said.

The state requested the lease in 2021. The roughly 23 square miles (60 square kilometers) in the federal lease is larger than the state’s request of about 15 square miles (39 square kilometers). It will allow the state, the fishing community, oceanography experts and the offshore wind industry to thoroughly evaluate the compatibility of floating offshore wind.

Floating turbines are the only way some states can capture offshore wind energy on a large scale. In the U.S. alone, 2.8 terawatts of wind energy potential blows over ocean waters too deep for traditional turbines that affix to the ocean floor, according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. That’s enough to power 350 million homes — more than double the number of existing homes in the U.S.

President Joe Biden has made offshore wind a key part of his plans for fighting climate change.

Since the start of his administration, the Department of the Interior has approved the nation’s first nine commercial scale offshore wind projects with a combined capacity of more than 13 gigawatts of clean energy — enough to power nearly 5 million homes.

(BDN) — Floating camps are popping up more and more in Maine’s lakes, ponds and rivers.

These floating structures aren’t houseboats, and many don’t have motors at all. They resemble camps that you would see on shore, except they float, and are anchored to the bottom or tied to something onshore. They come with decks, planter boxes and second stories or vaulted ceilings.

Cool, right? Well, not exactly.

The state says the floating camps are blocking the views from houses and camps onshore, posing pollution risks, and creating congestion at public docks and boat ramps. Some are even being used as seasonal rental properties.

Because they are not solidly onshore, these camps are beyond the reach of private property boundaries and shore regulations that protect the water and fishery from pollution. And because Maine doesn’t have a clear definition of what is a boat and what isn’t, there’s no consensus of what regulations apply to the structures.

That could soon change, because the topic is expected to come up in discussions in the Legislature’s upcoming session, according to Mark Latti, spokesperson for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

Until regulations are in place, the number of these offshore camps will continue to grow. And unless they’re a private lake or pond, there’s not much Maine can do to stop them.

A group involving multiple state agencies recognized the severity of the problem more than two years ago. It submitted a report, including its recommendations, to the Legislative Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry in the spring 2023 session of the 131st Legislature.

“The group identified a need to define and regulate these non-water-dependent floating structures in order to protect Maine’s waters, and this will take a collaborative approach involving the public, the Legislature and various state agencies,” DIF&W Deputy Commissioner Tim Peabody said.

In practice, Maine generally allows anything that has a motor to be registered as a boat, even though the state has no universal definition for a recreational boat. Houseboats, which have been allowed legally on Maine’s inland waters for decades, have a fairly solid definition and depend on being on the water.

“Watercraft is defined throughout Maine statutes, and there are multiple definitions regarding watercraft depending on where it is found” in each agency, Latti said.

The reason for the loophole in the state’s laws and regulations mostly has to do with how authority over what happens on Maine waters is divided between multiple agencies.

The bottoms of lakes and ponds are under the jurisdiction of the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands. The water and its quality is the Maine Department of Environmental Protection’s responsibility. The fish, wildlife and plants, plus boats on inland waters, are regulated by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. In unorganized territories, the Land Use Planning Commission has some say in what can be built where, but no authority for enforcement. If it’s in an intertidal region, the Maine Marine Patrol becomes involved. The Land Use Planning Commission and Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands both fall under the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry.

Confused yet?

On top of that, towns bordering inland waters have a right to establish a harbormaster to enforce municipal mooring rules, but rely on the state to have clear regulations around watercraft. That gets the Maine Municipal Association and the Maine Harbormasters Association involved as well.

Some towns have established their own definitions of houseboats and floating camps. But they often have no capacity to address disputes over lake and pond usage and there may be multiple towns that surround one body of water, according to a state report.

Everyone has a stake in Maine’s lakes and ponds, but no one has the authority to remove a floating camp.

The challenge, the report submitted to the Legislative Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry said, is “the lack of a clear violation of law or regulation for the unauthorized placement” of floating camps. If there’s agreement that the floating camps should not be allowed, “a clear prohibition in statute would allow for enforcement of this prohibition.”

It has identified two possible directions for legislation it says would help.

The first, which is what the report recommends, would be to ban floating camps whose primary use is habitation, not navigation. It would require changing sections of other laws, rules and policies in multiple agencies to close loopholes. It would still allow true houseboats, which would have specific criteria to be met regarding structure, size, navigation and pollution control. This is thought to change what will and won’t be registered as a motorboat.

The second option would be to establish a new program within an existing agency to oversee a permitting and enforcement system that would regulate but not ban floating camps.

There is no current proposed legislation to the knowledge of the Maine departments of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife or Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, according to their respective spokesmen.

The multi-agency report distinguishes between non-water dependent floating structures and water dependent. A non-water dependent structure would be a floating camp, because it could exist and be functional on land. Water-dependent would include boats and true houseboats.

That distinction, and whether the floating object is used primarily for human habitation or navigation, will be key in how definitions for boats, houseboats and floating camps are crafted.

DIF&W also proposes changes to the motorboat registration process that will define and set standards for legal houseboats to distinguish them from floating camps anchored in the water.

This change would make it harder for floating camps to be registered as boats, and for their owners to avoid DEP regulations that protect the environment around the shoreline.

It also proposes a clear definition of what can be registered as a boat and what cannot.

If you’ve got a sweet tooth in Maine, you’re in luck. There’s a whole lot of candy to be had.

From artisanal chocolates and saltwater taffy to mass-produced products like Nerds and Haribo gummies, there’s a bounty of treats to taste and some pretty neat stores to explore.

We unwrap the details on five unique shops, from York to Round Pond, and share the sweet reasons why you should hop on the candy trail.

Orrin Smith 7, of Angier, North Carolina, picks candy as he fills a bag at Sweetz & More. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer

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Sweetz & More opened in Wiscasset last year, in the space that was previously occupied by Big Al’s. It’s the first Maine location of a New Hampshire-based chain of five stores.

The place is enormous and, in fact, just might be the largest candy store in New England. The amount of candy, including chocolate, saltwater taffy, bulk candies, jelly beans, licorice, retro candy and a trove of other items, is mind-boggling.

Store manager Heather Barter said some of the bestsellers are Atomic fireballs and Nerds Gummy Clusters.

Sweetz & More also has its own freeze-drying equipment and sells bags of freeze-dried Skittles, Nerd Clusters and several other candies. A popular choice is freeze-dried, cotton-candy-flavored saltwater taffy. Barter said that freeze-drying renders the candy airy, making it not as hard and chewy.

Sweetz also makes several varieties of fudge in house and has an ice cream counter.

LIKE A ROCK

Originally called Hines Hall, the two-story Round Pond house that’s now home to Granite Hall Store was built in 1873. In the early 1900s, it was known as Fossett’s, a place to get ice cream and penny candy that shuttered in 1960.

Granite Hall Store owner Sarah Herndon poses by some of the candy. Photo by Aimsel Ponti

It’s changed hands a few times through the years, and when Eric and Sarah Herndon bought it in 1983, the previous owner suggested that they didn’t bother keeping the penny candy. But the couple thought better of that.

“The candy brings people here,” said Sarah Herndon, who has run the store with the help of her daughters, granddaughters and seasonal workers since her husband died in 2012.

Granite Hall Store sells plenty of other items, including housewares, Irish woolens, candles, toys and cards. The candy, however, is perhaps the most eye-catching offering, some of it displayed in old apothecary jars. Herndon said that Goetze’s Old-Fashioned Caramel Creams are a hot seller, as are Haribo gummy raspberries.

Candy displayed in an antique case at the Way Way Store in Saco. Photo by Aimsel Ponti

TIME WARP

When Peter and Bridget Scontras took over the Way Way Store in 2011, their plan was to run it for two years. Thirteen years later, they’re having so much fun, they have no plans to leave.

The Way Way Store, built by the Cousens family, opened in 1916 in a barn.

The current building was constructed with concrete blocks in the late 1920s. It closed in 2003 but was reopened eight years later by the Scontrases.

Gummy candies of all stripes are popular at the shop. “Any shape or size, you want,” Peter Scontras said.

He also said traditional candies like Necco Wafers and rock candy do well.

Peter Scontras at The Way Way Store in Saco. Photo by Aimsel Ponti

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One thing you won’t find there, however, is candy or bubblegum cigarettes. “We don’t to get into the cigarette culture,” Scontras said.

The first thing you’ll hear when you walk into the Way Way Store is old-time bluegrass music, which adds to the charm of the place. Then you’ll be surrounded by candy, some of which is displayed in a glass case that’s more than 120 years old.

There’s a box that small children use as a step stool so they can see into the case. Peter says that he hears from adult customers that they remember standing on it when they were young.

The Way Way Store stocks a vast array of throwback candy, like Mary Janes, Chuckles, Sky Bar candy bars and Mallo Cups, wax bottles and multiple flavors of Tootsie Rolls.

You’ll also find plenty of contemporary goodies that are popular with kids, including Icee Squeeze candy, Toxic Waste sour candy and Rip Rolls.

The Way Way Store was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.

In April of 2023, CBS News visited the shop for a story about preserving small-town general stores.

Lenny the chocoloate moose at Len Libby Candies in Scarborough. Photo by Christine Lyall

STUNNING VISUAL

There are many reasons to visit Len Libby Candies in Scarborough. Its massive inventory of chocolate comes in every form, including chocolate-covered blueberries, pebbles and seashells made out of chocolate, peanut butter cups, and dozens of other chocolate-centric delights.

The shop’s bestseller is Bangor Taffy, a rich, buttery caramel covered in confectioner’s sugar. It was originally sold on the Bangor-to-Boston passenger train back in the early 1900s, and it was the customers who gave the sweet its name.

Other popular items are Lemon Zest Bark and Needhams. Len Libby Needhams do not include potatoes as an ingredient. Raw coconuts are cracked open by hand with a machete, drained, and shredded into a pulp.

Len Libby also carries a line of Maine maple sweets, including maple sugar leaves, maple walnut bark and maple drops.

But the most whimsical reason that people flock to Len Libby Candies is not to get the latest gummy, bag of saltwater taffy, or package of licorice.

They want to see Lenny, the 1,700-pound milk chocolate moose. Lenny has been standing proud as a centerpiece of the shop since 1997, complete with a white chocolate pond.

The Candy Corner in York.

IMPASTABLY SWEET

The Candy Corner in York was opened in 1981 by Agnes and Johnny Biagioni and their daughter, Janie. The shop is affectionately or, if you will, confectionately referred to by locals as Johnny’s Candy Corner.

Aisles of penny candy and several cases of chocolate and other goodies fill the store.

Agnes said that Candy Corner’s bestsellers are the hand-dipped turtle chocolates and homemade fudge.

Chocolate ravioli at The Candy Corner in York. Courtesy photo

The other confection that Agnes said they can barely keep in stock is its chocolate ravioli. Available in milk, dark and white chocolate, the “pasta” is filled with caramel, raspberry and peanut butter. Agnes said that, as far as she knows, the Candy Corner is the only shop in Maine making chocolate in the shape of pasta.

The Candy Corner also carries a big line of taffy, which Agnes said comes from a company called Taffy Town. The pieces are individually wrapped and are nut- and gluten-free. The taffy is sold by the pound, or you can buy a box that features the Nubble Lighthouse.

Agnes said she’s allergic to nuts, making some of the store’s offerings off-limits to her, but she does have a personal favorite that she makes an exception for, in small amounts: “The peanut butter cups are to die for.” She’s also a huge fan of the shop’s chocolate fudge.

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