The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will hold public meetings this month and accept comments on its draft environmental impact assessment for proposed offshore wind leases in the Gulf of Maine.

BOEM, an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior, announced its proposal for an offshore wind auction in April. It would cover eight leases off the coasts of Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire and would have the potential to generate up to 15 megawatts of energy, enough to power up to 5 million homes, according to BOEM.

In June, BOEM published a draft environmental impact assessmentoutlining the potential environmental impacts of the proposal. Expected impacts are listed as “negligible” or “negligible to low” for a number of categories, including commercial and recreational fishing, sea turtles, military use, and more.

The 30-day public comment period ends on July 22. BOEM holds virtual public meetings on the environmental impact assessment on July 8 at 1 p.m. and July 10 at 5 p.m. During the meetings, the public will be able to learn more about the assessment, ask questions and provide oral testimony, BOEM said.

While clean energy advocates say offshore wind could help transition the region to more environmentally friendly energy sources, many fishermen have voiced strong opposition to the proposal. A public meeting in Portsmouth in late May drew a crowd of opponents, mostly from the fishing community.