The proposed construction of two 600-foot wind turbines less than three miles offshore has become a divisive topic on Monhegan Island. One group of residents claims it had no idea that what began as a small pilot project by the Maine Aqua Ventus partners was going to evolve into the two massive floating structures.
Travis Dow, a spokesman for the newly formed group, Protect Monhegan, says that what began as a small, time-limited demonstration projected has morphed into a full-scale, 12-megawatt floating offshore wind operation. He says that when the project was approved by the Legislature and the Public Utilities Commission, many of the island’s 50 year-round residents were unaware of its potential scope and timeline.
The Maine Aqua Ventus partners envision a construction date of 2019 and expect the generation system to be in service for the next 20 years. Dow says he and other island residents believe the construction of the turbines will cause irreparable harm to the community and are now asking Aqua Ventus to erect the floating platforms farther away.
“We have a solid tourism industry,” he says. “It carries this town. There’s no question that we’re a huge bird migrating stop. It’s probably the most important stop on the North Atlantic flyway for migrating birds. It’s not the right site. Maine has 230 miles of coastal waters and 3,000 miles of coastline. There’s got to be a better place than right next to Monhegan Island.”
The Aqua Ventus partners are Emera Inc., Cianbro Corp., and the University of Maine and its Advanced Structures and Composites Center. Speaking for the university, Jake Ward says a number of Monhegan residents support the project and that moving the turbines is not an option at this point.
“There is no provision in the governing statutes to move this project, the project is approved for Monhegan, Monhegan is the designated test site, so there is no path to move it under the current circumstance,” he says.
Ward says that as part of the project, Monhegan residents voted this summer to approve a community benefit package that could include a limited amount of free power cabled from the mainland or some other mutually agreed upon arrangement. And he says fishermen from the island had also been offered compensation for the loss of fishing area.