ROCKLAND, Maine — Public sentiment was generally supportive Tuesday night on a proposal by a Norwegian company to erect four wind turbines about 14 miles off the coast of Boothbay Harbor.
Statoil North America, which is a subsidiary of a European energy company specializing in petroleum, has applied for approval to place the turbines on leased ocean grounds as a pilot project that would begin in 2016. The company held the second of three open houses Tuesday afternoon at the Rockland Public Library.
“I’ve been enthusiastic from the beginning if it is compatible with other uses,” said state Sen. Christopher Rector, R-Thomaston.
The state senator, who represents most of Knox County, said the state should capitalize on the native talents and skills of local residents in the ocean wind projects.
Sherman Hoyt of St. George, who has been active in a regional shellfish management program, said there is a need for renewable energy resources. The.wind power industry also could produce a tremendous amount of jobs along the coast, he noted.
Hoyt said the only thing he would want to see is that the people in the fishing industry have a role in determining where the turbines will be located.
Ron Huber of Rockland, an environmental activist, said he does not view himself as a supporter or opponent.
Huber said he has concerns about four turbines in close proximity and the impact it could have on water currents, lobsters and other marine life.
Huber had fought in court but lost an attempt to block a proposed pilot project by a consortium including the University of Maine for a turbine off Monhegan Island.
The commercial pilot project is located in federal waters.
Huber said he has seen proposed designs which also minimize the visual impacts of such turbines. He said, however, he was attending the meeting to gather information.
The company, which calls its project “Hywind Maine,” also is seeking permission to connect to the ISO New England power grid.
Statoil held a similar session Monday in Boothbay and will hold another at 4 p.m. Wednesday at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute at 350 Commercial St. in Portland.
Most of the more than 70 people at Monday’s meet-and-greet were in favor of the project.
BDN writer Christopher Cousins contributed to this report.
This project sounds great for Maine!
Shill
I would rather have those huge turbines offshore than towering over all their surroundings from every mountain top and ridge line in Maine, ruining the scenic vistas, peaceful nights, and causing more harm than good. The only folks who profit from mountain top wind farms are the developers, and they do so at tax payer’s expense!
Clearly, the BDN reporter did not talk to the more than half dozen wildlife professionals who attended last night’s reception sponsored by Statoil Hydro in Rockland. These people, who are actively working in the Gulf of Maine marine environment, expressed many concerns about the project and the fact that there is so little science going into assessing the appropriateness of this project. It was disturbing to find out that the company knows so little about the potential direct and indirect impacts that the construction, deployment, and maintenance activities may have on primary productivity, fish and fishing activities, marine mammals and turtles, seabirds and migratory landbirds. Most people I talked to felt that the environmental monitoring proposed for this project is incredibly inadequate, and that no science-based funding agency would agree to fund the assessment project as currently designed. The ‘studies’ would not stand up to the rigors of peer-review. The people of Maine who depend on the Gulf for their livelihood deserve better. I found no one from Statoil able to converse on how the project’s activities may interact with the current stochastic nature of the ecosystem, its threats from climate change, and the potential impacts to the fishing community. Can the system withstand the proposed loss of over 300 square miles of fishing area that the ultimate 5 GW of ocean energy planned for the Gulf would require? As I listened to a conversation between a Statoil consultant and a marine biologist, I was amazed to learn that the consultant knew so little about Right whales, a major consideration with deepwater wind energy development.
Thank you, Redstart. Informed discussions regarding environmental concerns are sadly lacking in all these industrial wind proposals.
redstart if you -or anyone one else reading this – want to help organize critical review and response to the two ocean windpower applicants about their probable impacts to the Gulf of Maine’s ecology, environment and fisheries economics, send email to penbay at justice dot com