New Hampshire

Are NH and Maine poised to become the ‘Saudi Arabia of wind energy’? Advocates say yes.

Published

2 years ago

May 9, 2024

Are NH and Maine poised to become the ‘Saudi Arabia of wind energy’? Advocates say yes.

CONCORD — The Gulf of Maine could be the Saudi Arabia of wind energy, said New Hampshire state Sen. David Watters, D-Dover, in advance of a press conference on the state and offshore wind.

On April 30, the U.S. Department of the Interior announced a proposal by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) for the first offshore wind energy auction in the Gulf of Maine. The sale would include eight lease areas off the coasts of Maine, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, totaling nearly one million acres, with the potential to generate 15 gigawatts of energy – nearly half of the amount of energy that powers the current electric grid servicing the region.

On Thursday, New England for Offshore Wind, Granite Shore Power, New Hampshire business leaders, and state elected officials were scheduled to hold a press conference to urge the state to “get engaged” in the procurement and development of offshore wind power.

“We felt that it was time to lift this back up in terms of the opportunity that New Hampshire has to be part of a burgeoning industry,” said Rob Werner, New Hampshire state director of the League of Conservation voters and a member of New England for Offshore Wind. “Not only for environmental reasons in terms of decarbonizing our economy and addressing climate change, but also in terms of economic development, jobs in the region.”

The push for wind energy comes after the announcement that Schiller and Merrimack Station power plants will be converted into “renewable energy parks.” Granite Shore Power, the company that owns both plants, is supporting the offshore wind energy movement and will play a role in its development, according to Werner.

What’s the deal with offshore wind power?

Offshore wind power is a form of renewable energy where the force of the winds at sea is harnessed and transformed into electricity.

In 2016, Block Island Wind Farm, located off of Block Island, Rhode Island, became the first project in the United States to deliver offshore wind power to the grid. In March, the first commercial-scale offshore wind farm opened off Montauk Point in New York. In Europe, there are several offshore wind farms in places like the United Kingdom, Denmark, and the Netherlands. In addition to the Gulf of Maine, the DOI proposal also included a wind energy auction off the coast of Oregon.

Offshore wind farms can create a large amount of clean energy: the proposed offshore wind energy in the Gulf of Maine has the potential to power 5 million homes. It also does so far away from where people live, meaning there is little local impact. Watters said the proposed offshore wind turbines in the Gulf of Maine would be too far away for people to see.

Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland said in a press release these projects are part of the administration’s commitment to develop clean energy and create jobs. In New Hampshire, Werner and Watters see offshore wind as an economic windfall.

“I think there’s so many opportunities; it’s not only the developers that you know, would be putting in the actual turbines in the Gulf of Maine,” Werner said. “There’s a supply chain aspect to it, and economic development aspect to it in terms of jobs, in terms of electricians and welders and professionals of all types as this industry grows.”

The wind turbines in the Gulf of Maine are likely to be floating, rather than be attached to a big pole like those on land. They’d be attached to the ocean floor by a cable.

Offshore wind farms face opposition from fishermen

Fisheries and lobstermen have voiced opposition to the offshore wind farms. Watters said fishermen are worried about “any loss of bottom” in terms of where they can fish. He said they took those fears into account and excluded areas that are prime fishing grounds. But in Maine, the Maine Lobstermen’s Association has pushed back against any industrialization of the Gulf of Maine.

Environmental organizations, too, are worried about the impact the farms could have on birds and marine life. But Werner said groups like the National Wildlife Federation and Audubon have been part of the conversations since the beginning.

“There really is a way to create a balance. Part of the reason that those organizations came to the table in the first place, was the realization of the impact of climate change. In the Gulf of Maine, the waters are warming more rapidly than almost anywhere else, affecting wildlife,” Werner said. “You can arrange and create a situation for offshore wind development that takes into consideration bird migration patterns and things of that nature.”

Public meetings to be held on offshore wind project

The conversation isn’t over yet; throughout the next couple months, there will be a 60-day public comment period on the proposed sale. BOEM will host three in-person meetings where the public will have the chance to discuss the auctions with BOEM scientists and other employees, as well as five virtual meetings directed at different stakeholders, like commercial fishing and environmental organizations.

The first in-person meeting is scheduled for May 28 in in Portland, Maine. The second will be the following day, May 29, at the Urban Forestry Center in Portsmouth from 5 to 8 p.m. The third is set for May 30 in Danvers, Massachusetts.

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New Hampshire

Senate panel endorses reporting exemption for players on New Hampshire Fisher Cats

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5 hours ago

March 10, 2026

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Senate panel endorses reporting exemption for players on New Hampshire Fisher Cats

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New Hampshire

Possible 2028 Democratic White House contenders weigh in on Iran with New Hampshire voters

Published

17 hours ago

March 10, 2026

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Possible 2028 Democratic White House contenders weigh in on Iran with New Hampshire voters

As the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran overtakes the foreign policy debate in Washington, two Democratic governors with potential 2028 presidential aspirations — Gavin Newsom and Andy Beshear — recently traveled to New Hampshire, introducing themselves to the state’s famously engaged voters. The two weighed in on the war and both criticized and questioned President Trump’s strategy and endgame.

“If a president is going to take a country into war, and risk the lives of American troops and Americans in the region, he has to have a real justification and not one that seems to change every five to 10 hours,” Beshear told CBS News after a Democratic fundraiser in Keene.

“This President seems to use force before ever trying diplomacy, and he has a duty to sell it to the American people and to address Congress with it,” Beshear continued. “He hasn’t done any of that. In fact, it appears there isn’t even a plan for what success looks like. He’s gone from regime change to strategic objectives and now is talking about unconditional surrender, which isn’t realistic where he is.”

Beshear also said he thought that Congress should have reined in Mr. Trump’s war powers.

“He is trying to ignore Congress. He’s trying to even ignore the American people,” Beshear said.

He went on to note that the president’s State of the Union address took place “three — four days before he launched this attack,” and Mr. Trump “didn’t even have the respect to tell the American people the threat that he thought Iran posed to us.”

Last week, both the House and the Senate failed to pass resolutions to limit Mr. Trump’s war powers and stop him from taking further military action against Iran without congressional support.

Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear speaks with voters in Keene, New Hampshire, on March 7, 2026.

Anne Bryson

For Newsom, the war with Iran constitutes part of a broader criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

At an event last Tuesday in Los Angeles, Newsom had compared Israel to an “apartheid state.” Later, in New Hampshire, he sought to clarify his comment.

“I was specifically referring to a Tom Friedman [New York Times] column last week, where Tom used that word of apartheid as it relates to the direction Bibi is going, particularly on the annexation of the West Bank,” Newsom explained during a book tour event Thursday night in Portsmouth. “I’m very angry, with what he is doing and why he’s doing it, what he’s going to ultimately try to do to the Supreme Court there, what he’s trying to do to save his own political career.”

Friedman wrote that at the same time that the U.S. and Israel are prosecuting a war in Iran, within Israel, Netanyahu’s government has undertaken efforts to annex the West Bank, driving Palestinians from their homes; fire the attorney general who is leading the prosecution against Netanyahu for corruption; and block the government’s attempt to establish a commission to examine the failures that led up to the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre of Jews by Hamas.

CBS News has reached out to the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., for comment.

On Iran, Newsom said, “I’m very angry about this war, with all due respect, you know, not because I’m angry the supreme leader is dead. Quite the contrary. I’m not naive about the last 37 years of his reign. Forty-seven years since ’79 — the revolution,” Newsom said. “But I’m also mindful that you have a president who still is inarticulate and incapable of giving us the rationale of why? Why now? What’s the endgame?”

California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks with political commentator Jack Cocchiarella at an event in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on March 5, 2026.

Anne Bryson

Many attendees at Newsom’s book event said that the situation in Iran is a top-of-mind issue for them, too. Some said they’re “horrified” by what is happening.

29-year-old Alicia Marr told CBS News she decided to attend Newsom’s event because of his social media response to the war with Iran.

“There was one spot left, and I decided to pick it up, and it was due to his response to the war, that it is just unacceptable, and I would agree with that,” Marr said.

While some voters like Marr are eager to hear about where potential candidates stand on foreign policy, many at Newsom’s event said they care most about how potential candidates plan to address domestic issues.

“I’m more focused on getting the middle class back on track and fighting the oligarchy, and I’m less invested in international issues,” said Anita Alden, who also attended Newsom’s event,

“I wouldn’t call myself America first, but we have so many problems at home that are my priority,” she told CBS News.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris, who may also be weighing another White House bid, told Fox 2 Detroit last week that she “unequivocally opposes” the Trump administration’s military action in Iran and urged Congress to take action.

“If we want to stop Donald Trump with this random decision that he has arrived at, then Congress must act, and Congress must act immediately. The American people do not want our sons and daughters to go into this unauthorized war of choice,” Harris said.

Mr. Trump has lashed out against Democrats who have pushed back on his Iran strategy, calling them “losers” last week and arguing that they would criticize any decision he made on Iran.

“If I did it, it’s no good. If I didn’t do it, they would have said the opposite, that you should have done this,” the president said.

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New Hampshire

Mass. man nabbed after allegedly driving over 100 mph in N.H.

Published

1 day ago

March 9, 2026

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Mass. man nabbed after allegedly driving over 100 mph in N.H.

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Police say the Attleboro man was driving 104 mph in a 55 mph zone on Route 202 near in Rindge, New Hampshire.

A Massachusetts man was arrested late Wednesday night after police say he was driving more than 100 mph on a New Hampshire roadway.

Officers with the Rindge Police Department stopped a vehicle shortly after 11 p.m. on Route 202 near Sears Drive in Rindge following a report of a car traveling at excessive speed, according to a statement from Chief Rachel Malynowski.

The vehicle, a 2020 Kia Stinger, was spotted traveling at 104 mph in a posted 55 mph zone, Malynowski said.

The driver, a 21-year-old man from Attleboro, was arrested and charged with reckless operation of a motor vehicle, according to police.

He is scheduled to be arraigned April 5. If convicted, the man faces a fine of at least $750, in addition to the court’s penalty assessment, and a 90-day license suspension, Malynowski said.