Boon Island lighthouse auction

The U.S. federal government is auctioning off Maine's tallest lighthouse, located on Boon Island near one of the state's designated offshore wind test sites.

Boon Island Light Station, seen from Cape Neddick.

The Boon Island Light Station auction, conducted online through the General Services Administration's website, covers a 133-foot granite tower sited on a barren outcrop of granite 14 feet above sea level.  Built in 1855 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the lighthouse will continue to serve as an unmanned navigational aid maintained by the United States Coast Guard.

In 2009, the Maine Legislature selected waters near Boon Island as one of three designated offshore wind test sites.  While the Monhegan offshore wind test site drew interest from the University of Maine-led Aqua Ventus consortium, to date, no project has publicly pursued plans to develop the Boon Island offshore wind test site.

Meanwhile, the federal government continues to sell or otherwise get rid of "surplus" property.  Two years ago, the federal government announced plans to give away two Maine lighthouses -- Boon Island and Halfway Rock -- to qualified entities willing to conserve the historic structures.  When no such transfer ensued, the General Services Administration placed both lighthouses on the auction block.

As of early Wednesday afternoon, 13 bidders had participated in the auction for the Boon Island light station, with a current high bid of $64,000.  The auction is scheduled to close midday on Thursday, although previous deadlines have been extended.

Maine lighthouses and offshore wind

The federal government is trying to give away two historic lighthouses on offshore Maine islands, one of which lies near a designated offshore wind testing site.  The two lighthouses - Halfway Rock Light Station and Boon Island Light Station - are located on islands offshore of southern Maine.  To qualify to take either lighthouse for free, applicants must commit to preserving the structures' historical integrity and promoting public access to their islands.

Cuckolds Fog Signal and Light Station off Boothbay Harbor, Maine.  This lighthouse was privatized in 2006 through the same program now seeking to convey two other Maine lighthouses.

Halfway Rock is a 2-acre rock ledge about 10 miles east of Portland Head Light on a 2-acre rock ledge.  The rock is named for its position half way between the two ends of Casco Bay, formed by Cape Elizabeth and Cape Small.

Boon Island Light lies 6 miles off the coast of York.  It is the tallest lighthouse on the Maine coast, standing 123 feet tall.  The waters off Boon Island were designated as an offshore wind energy test site in December 2009, along with sites near Damariscove Island and Monhegan.  To date, no commercial developer has publicly announced plans to develop the Boon Island offshore wind site.

If no entities qualify for a free transfer of the lighthouses, the U.S. General Services Administration will auction them off.  (In 2010, Ram Island Ledge Light near Cape Elizabeth was sold at auction for $190,000.)  The government's plans to sell or give away the lighthouses may not directly affect the proposed offshore wind plans, but whoever gets the Boon Island site would have a commanding view of any wind turbines sited nearby.