Analysis of the Offshore Wind Industry with respect to Maine’s Wind Energy Act through Systematic Content Analysis

Abstract

Through systematic content analysis, this thesis explores the interplay of available technology, global environmental imperatives, and political willpower in the Gulf of Maine’s offshore wind industry. Historically, Maine has been resistant to developments, and the offshore wind industry has faced significant pushback from fishermen and coastal stakeholders alike. To track changes in sentiment over time, this study will focus on written media from public and governmental sources. The central question of this thesis requires temporal and political contextualization, thus relying on an analysis of the Maine Wind Energy Act. The progression and evolution of the MWEA serve as a timeline to chart changes in sentiment over time. By examining shifts in Maine’s state leadership within the scope of the Act, this thesis considers the fluctuations that enable or hinder offshore wind. Utilizing NVIVO software to code written media documents, this study categorizes public-facing narratives as positive, negative, neutral, or mixed. It was determined that there was a positive correlation between the democratic governor in office and the volume of media produced surrounding renewable energy, particularly offshore wind. There was a primarily positive and neutral tone from the public and government facing offshore wind that peaked in the most recent democratic political era. Similarly, the results found that the MWEA was more legally obligatory in the third era. The results of the narrative and textual analysis results underpin two things. The significance of democratic state leadership for of renewably portfolio standards, and thus offshore wind procurement. Written media is also a tool for assessing the efficacy, measured through public or governmental narrative, of legislation like the MWEA.