Monhegan project worries local fishermen, residents

First published in Landings, February, 2013. 

The Maine Aqua Ventus off shore pilot wind power project to be sited off Monhegan Island has passed muster with the Maine Public Utilities Commission (PUC) which paves the way for the project to go forward. But some residents of Monhegan and mainland communities that will be affected say the project hasn’t passed muster with them. At least not yet.

The PUC in a 2-1 vote on January 14 approved electricity rates and other terms for the project, thus eliminating one of the project’s hurdles. Now Maine Aqua Ventus awaits a decision in mid-May on whether the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will award a $46 million grant for its next phase.

“If we are selected [by DOE] we can complete the design and permitting phase—we’ve already done 50 percent—and go through to the construction phase,” said Jake Ward, a vice president for Innovation and Economic Development for the University of Maine. The project, a collaboration among the University of Maine’s for-profit company Maine Prime Technologies, Cianbro Corporation and the energy company Emera, is one of six competing for three DOE Off shore Wind Advanced Technology Demonstration Projects grants. If the project qualifies, construction would begin in 2016 and be completed in 2017, according to Ward. In the meantime, permitting and design work would take place, as well as meetings and input from residents of Monhegan and the Bristol area.

To be eligible for the grants, projects must demonstrate they can meet or exceed the European standard for wind power turbines as well as reduce electricity generation costs in order to make the wind produced energy cost-competitive with other energy sources. Another consideration is the use of local materials that lend themselves to the marine environment. Maine Aqua Ventus’s turbines use concrete available in Maine for the platform, and composites created at the University of Maine in Orono for the towers.

“Maine builds lots of concrete projects, and concrete is more resistant to corrosion in the marine environment than steel, which Europe uses for its platforms,” said Ward. “Composites are lighter than steel towers and they’re long-lasting, so these materials will increase the life of the platform. We can make composite towers here, it’s not much different from making a composite boat.”

Other challenges also face the project. Lobstermen, shrimpers and other residents of the area around Bristol are concerned about the laying of a 4” to 6” cable that will deliver electricity to land and into the electrical grid. Plans now are for the cable to run to the Bristol sub-station near Route 130, halfway to Damariscotta.

“It won’t be a last minute decision,” said Ward. Public meetings have been held with lobstermen and residents and more are planned to discuss the path of the cable. “Th ere are different ways to get there from Monhegan, and there are places we would not lay the cable, places where it would be most affected by weather, in the direct path of draggers, or other obvious problems,” he emphasized. A public wind power advisory meeting is planned for January 28 at the New Harbor Fire Station at 7 p.m.

“I’m all in favor of alternative energy, but I have concerns. I’m worried about the cable interfering with shrimp towing and lobster gear, as well as how wildlife, birds, will be affected. I’m also concerned about the lack of answers we’re getting from the university,” said Sheila McLain, daughter of a New Harbor lobsterman. Th e towns of Monhegan and Bristol created working groups of local citizens to meet with university representatives. Bristol now has a web site, Bristol Matters, to keep citizens informed about the project.

John Murdock is a member of the Monhegan task force and also a lobsterman. He feels conflicted. “As a member of the task force, I’m trying to keep an open mind. We realize there may be no way of stopping it, so it’s best to figure out how to work with them and get what’s best for Monhegan ,” he said. Like other island lobstermen, Murdock is upset that the Aqua Ventus people have not met with lobstermen since the project scope was altered more than a year ago. In fact, the project changes were not discussed with other island residents until recently, he said.

“They came to us with the original project, but it’s changed drastically. It was supposed to be the testing of a platform for a very small turbine that could be moved out of the area in lobster season,” said Murdock. “They never talked about it to us again. Now it’s two turbines [more than 500] feet tall.” The chains that will attach the turbines’ platforms to the anchors are expected to be four feet tall, he added.

Monhegan was chosen as the test site because wind turbines are not allowed within 10 miles of shore and Monhegan is more than 10 miles off shore, but still outside federal waters, so the project did not have to apply for federal permits, according to Murdock. Monhegan offers a shorter distance to shore for the electrical cable, which will cost approximately $2 million per mile, than Matinicus, the only other location that fits state requirements.

Th e test turbines will occupy two square miles of lobster territory, said Murdock. Th e island averages between 40 and 60 year-round residents, of whom only eight are currently lobstermen.

Marian Chioffi is the bookkeeper and clerk for Monhegan’s power company. She also serves as co-chair of the island’s task force. Monhegan, which now pays the highest power costs in the country, has been promised free electricity through the wind project, but Chioffi says that alone would not sway island residents. “Anyone who moves here knows what they’re signing on for” as far as power costs, she said.

According to Chioffi , the Aqua Ventus planners have been cooperative and forthcoming with information so far. They are planning to model the sound expected from the turbines so residents can hear it in advance, and will do studies on the effect on wildlife and tourism. They have also promised to paint the towers neon yellow only up to the 55 feet required by the Coast Guard.

McLain continues to be concerned about the route the electricity cable will take once it reaches the mainland. One path initially discussed brought the cable by Shaw’s Wharf in New Harbor, said McLain. “Th ere are more boats there than anywhere,” she said.

Ward say nothing definite has been decided about the cable. Its thickness will be determined by what is state-of-the-art in 2017 when the turbines are launched, and the route will be determined not only by the most cost-effective, direct line to the substation, but by considerations of challenges presented by underwater terrain as well as fishing gear, said Ward.

“Engineers are looking at the bottom and the cable. They know there’s canyons, for instance,” explained Paul Anderson, director of the Maine Sea Grant program, who conducted several meetings about the project with fishermen this winter. “The proposed plan...is to place rock around the spots where it wouldn’t lie flat and to bury some of it in the mud. The most obvious concern is mobile gear. There’s an important shrimp fishery in Penobscot Bay. We want to figure out how we can stay away from the more productive shrimp areas.”

Those involved in the Aqua Ventus project hope it will lead to a bigger commercial wind farm further off shore that ultimately reduces the cost for electricity. Ward said the final location of a large farm 10 to 20 miles off shore would be determined after a study of shipping channels, fishing areas and whale habitat, among other considerations. Key reasons for developing off shore wind for Maine, said Ward, include producing energy and local jobs, getting energy to the market at competitive prices and not harming the environment.

Murdock continues to have serious concerns about what will be happening off the coast of Maine in future years. “We (Monhegan lobstermen) were left out of the loop,” he said. “Other lobstermen should get a good jump on it now because in the next ten years the plan is to have 80 turbines in 64 square miles in prime lobster area in federal waters of the Gulf of Maine.”

For more information:Bristol Matters https://sites.google.com/site/bristolmatters2014/The Advanced Structures and Composites Center - University of Maine http://composites.umaine.eduMaine Aqua Ventus  http://maineaquaventus.com/index.php/faqsDepartment of Energy http://www1.eere.energy.gov/wind/off shore_demonstration.html