By the year 2030, the federal government wants to see 54,000 megawatts of wind power produced along continental shelf seas. How much of that renewable energy may come from the Gulf of Maine---and at what cost---dominated talk at an offshore wind conference today in Belfast.

In its final report, Gov. John Baldacci's Ocean Energy Task Force laid out an ambitious goal: Maine should commit to producing 5,000 of those 54,000 megawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030.

The task force's recommendations became law back in April. And now, as the Maine Public Utilities Commission looks for companies to take part in an initial 25 megawatt deepwater experiment, a coalition of wind power and coastal science groups decided it was time to get everyone together, take a deep breath and talk.

Suzanne Pude is community energy director at the Island Institute. "Just to get everybody onto the same page and to get the background information they need to learn who the decision-makers are in the process and also for the decision-makers and those experts at the table to hear more about the concerns, interests and other questions from coastal stakeholders," she says.

Marine scientists talked of the need to assess what impact projects could have on groundfish, the state's lucrative lobster industry and other sea life in the Gulf of Maine.

Industry groups pushed the possible economic benefits of offshore wind and stressed the need to attract companies to Maine that can manufacture turbines and other hardware in state. And economists looked at which coastal areas offer the most promising generation potential.

One question that didn't come up: Will Republican Gov.-elect Paul LePage be as gung ho about offshore wind as his Democratic predecessor?

Rep. Stacey Fitts of Pittsfield served on the Gov. Baldacci's Ocean Energy Task Force. "I don't think there's any indication that I've had that the new administration is going to abandon future planning and looking at what Maine's options are going forward. Whether the administration makes it one of its top priorities is really something that has to develop."

In January, the University of Maine is scheduled to release a long-awaited report on offshore wind. The deadline for companies to submit proposals to the Maine PUC for the deepwater pilot program is May 1st of next year.