“What does Ocean Energy and Wind Power mean for Maine’s Fishermen?” was title of a seminar at the Fishermen’s Forum in Rockport Maine on Saturday March 6, 2010. The discussion included a review of the UM R&D wind site off Monhegan by scientist Neal Pettigrew, a description of the new bill LD 1810 that would open up all of Maine’s territorial sea to windfarm leasing and much more. Here as mp3s is everything that each speaker said at the seminar, in the order they spoke. The Q&A session was brief and I may post it shortly. Read my opinions/observations below the list of speakers’s links if you choose.
Introduction Dierdre Gilbert Maine DMR 2min
Beth Nagusky, MDEP Office of Innovation 13 min
George Lapointe, Department of Marine Resources 5 minutes
Des Fitzgerald, Principle Power 10 Minutes
Peter Hughes, Fishermen’s Energy, New Jersey 12 minutes
Neal Pettigrew, University of Maine on Monhegan R&D site 11 minutes
Addison Ames, Vinalhaven Electric Coop 10 min
Rob Snyder, Island Institute 10 minutes
My biased observations: A roomful of fishermen listened silent but very attentive, as the speakers made their pitches for leasing off Maine’s state waters to the power industry. No questions till all the speakers were done. One unusual thingw as that NOBODY got any applause. Not the govt officials of MDEP or DMR. Not the University of Maine scientist, not the Vinalhaven electric coop official, nor the “Fisherman Wind” guy from New Jersey or the Island Instituter. Just stunned silence, as a succession of maps rolled across the screen showing plans for windfarms the size of Delaware stretching offshore and onshore.
The Q and A was cut short – notably the panel declined to answer repeated requests for an approximate number of windmills they were planning to install in Maine waters. to reach the megawatts the state as set as goals. The industry people talked very happily in describing the kilowatts and megawatts of energy they could pull from Maine state waters ocean winds, but grew vague when asked to come up with a number of poles that would be placed in those waters. But none of the government officials or wind industry people would offer up even a guess.
One suspects that the public hearing on LD 1810 on March 11th in front of the Energy and Utility Committee will be well attended!
These words, of course are my observations and opinions and may have little to do with reality as others perceive it…
Tagged as:
Island Institutute,
Maine,
Monhegan,
nearshore wind,
Samoset DMR
A gentleman living on the shore of Lake Michigan ,who loves that great freshwater sea, sent these surrealistic possible futures of Monhegan and Manana, should they becomes a locus of Maine wind generation. After all, if one or two windpoles have ‘no significant impact’, why should 3 or 4? Or…more? Take a look at what could become in a decade or so, “Powerhegan”, supplying juice to all of Knox County. Warning: not for the scenically squeamish
Pleaes print out your favorite or least favorite and give one to those fine people of the DeepCWind Consortium when they come to visit Monhegan tomorrow. Theyll have all sorts of interesting handouts for you on how wonderful and, perhaps, soothing the suss suss sussuration of the great blades could be.
Resolute Marine of Boston hopes to add lunar power energy extractors to the same two square mile area south of Monhegan
that the wind industry plans to use to develop giant floating offshore wind turbines, that would be emplaced by the hundreds a few miles east of the test site in federal waters. Now, if the photoelectric people show up, sun, moon and wind could all three be pressed into service making electricity for Monhegankind!
NASA photo
Tagged as:
lunar power,
Maine,
Monhegan,
tidal power
I agree that there’s a serious possibility that alternative energy will impact the quality of natural beauty, not only on Monhegan, but many, many places that alternative energy is introduced.
Living in Vermont, I accept that. We will have to sacrifice some vistas, mountaintops. But for me, cell towers and telephone lines already pollute the visual environment – I try to look beyond that.
Monhegan is different – more unique, more fragile, more incredibly refreshing to the soul. From the little that I know and understand of the community of people living there year-round, it is fragile. Would disturbing the lobster grounds impact the community? Could the change in the aesthetics make some people, living there year-round, choose to leave? Could the change in aesthetics cause a decrease in the number of people drawn to the island in the summer?
My guess is that the economics of Monhegan is somewhat similar to Vermont – the cost of living outpaces the rate of earning. If the fishing and/or tourist-based income earnings drop then – like Vermont -the changes in the community economics threatens the sustainability of the community.So. I think that what I’m trying to say is that the economic and ecological impacts should be carefully studied before embarking on bringing capitol letters TECHNOLOGY to Monhegan.
And for the environment – what impacts would the construction have – and what follows wind turbines? Maybe nothing, but once a pathway is created…
The real question – what to do about the need for affordable energy on the island. Conservation – absolutely. Energy audits. Though it’s already clear that it’s visitors in the summer that create the need for the increase in power. Does this feel like a political issue, locally, at this point?
Tidal energy is predicted to have the least environmental footprint. Hopefully, the money for development is being invested now – it hasn’t been for a long time. There’s a project in NYC on the East River. If Monhegan can hold down consumption for a decade (??) the right solution might be tidal energy.
http://www.technologyreview.com/Energy/18567/?a=fAll for now -
Lesley
(1) February 4, 2010), attorney Jeffrey Thaler of Bernstein Shur contacted me to discuss having his two new clients – the University of Maine System and the DeepCwind Consortium – becoming intervenors in my case against the Bureau of Parks and Lands decision to designate, 2 miles south of Monhegan, the Maine Offshore Wind Research Center. 
While I have assented to the University of Maine as intervenor, I have also made my misgivings clear to the court about the prospect of the DeepCwind Consortium intervening. Remember: the case is simply: Did the Bureau of Parks and Lands follow the applicable state laws and regulations when it designated the Monhegan Offshore Wind Test Area or not?
The University of Maine was deeply involved in the planning and research; it is sensible for the judge to be informed by them of their role in the designation process. But the DeepCwind Consortium – a forward-looking group of investors, entrepreneurs, engineering & law firms, NGOs, retired politicians and the like, focused on exploitation of the research area AFTER it is designated - played no role in the BPL’s decision. They hence have nothing to offer the court but much irrelevant and after-the-fact sound and bombastic fury. Superior Court Justice Jeffrey Hjelm is said to view such water-muddying displays of lawyerly virtuosity with distaste, anyway – so why clutter the record?
But then a copy of Atty Thaler’s February 4, 2010 motion to intervene arrived in the mail asking the judge to indeed let him represent both U Maine and “DeepCwind Consortium” as two intervenors in my case. He asked for an expedited decision, suggesting that I was okay with both entities getting into the case. As I immediately informed the court in my response he was quite mistaken, I noted that the various entities that make up this consortium are, of course free to apply individually to intervene.
(2) Assistant Attorney General Amy Mills is going to represent the interests of the Bureau of Parks and Lands viz this case. She is a veteran attorney on natural resource-related litigation and enforcement. Mills’ and the Bureau of parks and Lands’ first order of business is to “compile and produce the record” on which BPL based its decision, then send a copy to me and a copy to the judge. This could take some time, as, according to another attorney familiar with the Bureau of Parks and lands decision: “\“There’s quite a volume of material” , adding that BPL will likely ask for a time extension to produce its materials.
Fine. Let’s be thorough. A fully informed judge will make a good decision. Stay tuned.
