More than 20 protesters lined the State House halls Tuesday to speak out against a proposal to build a wind port on Sears Island, a move state leaders say is necessary to support an emerging industry.

Chris Buchanan of Searsport said she brings her family to Sears Island frequently, calling it “a sacred place for us.”

She and others came to the State House to urge lawmakers to reject LD 2266, which proposes to give the project an exemption from sand dune regulations so it can move forward.

“I’ve have been trying to organize this group of people to try to resist the development of the island, to protect the island because it’s very unique,” Buchanan said.

She and others believe nearby Mack Point is a better location for the wind port, which will support floating wind turbines in the Gulf of Maine.

“Mack Point has absolutely everything they need,” she said. “Mack Point is already an industrialized zone with enough space and lots of flexibility around how this development would happen there.”

When she announced the state’s choice of Sears Island last month, Gov. Janet Mills said her administration spent two years comparing the two options.

She emphasized that only part of Sears Island will be used for the port, with the remaining two-thirds conserved for recreation and wildlife.

A major reason to pick land on Sears Island is that the state already owns it and it has been earmarked as a potential site for commercial development for more than 10 years, Mills said during the Feb. 20 announcement.

It will also not require as much dredging to make it usable for the types of ships that will need access to the site.

The port would serve as a place to build, stage, assemble and maintain the operations of a floating offshore wind site.

Groups as diverse as the Maine State Chamber of Commerce, Maine Audubon, Maine Conservation Voters and the Maine AFL-CIO applauded the decision, urging that the state act now to tackle climate change.

To make the project work, the administration needs approval of LD 2266, which would allow the Maine Department of Environmental Protection to issue a permit if the project meets all laws and regulations.

“This proposed wind port cannot avoid impacting a man-made, recently mapped coastal sand dune about four-tenths of an acre in size abutting and south of an existing jetty and near deep water needed for the port,” Meghan Russo, director of government affairs for the Maine Department of Transportation said during a public hearing last week.

The bill is sponsored by Rep. Gerry Runte (D-York) who said he believes it fulfills “the critical need to balance environmental protection with Maine’s clean energy goals.”

“LD 2266 represents a thoughtful, strategic approach to environmental stewardship in the era of climate change,” he said during the hearing. “It ensures that while we advance crucial renewable energy projects, we remain vigilant in protecting our natural resources.”

On Tuesday, the protesters got support from Rep. Kenneth Ralph Davis (R-East Machias).

“I don’t like it when the state tries to do something to any community if it goes against the wishes of those people in that community,” he said. “It’s going to change the natural beauty of that area.”