November 30, 2016 — After years of setbacks, the first commercial American offshore wind farm is now just days away from producing electricity to the energy grid, while scientists and fishermen off the New England coast continue to assess the potential impact of turbines on the sea life in the area.
The pilot project, known as the Block Island Wind Farm, could change the way the 9,734 square-mile island powers itself but could also disrupt the fishing patterns in areas near the turbines—an unattractive prospect for local fishermen. Because of such an unprecedented undertaking, project fishermen have expressed concern that there could still be impending disruptions to their livelihoods.
“You don’t know what’s gonna happen once electricity starts flowing through the wires,” Anthony Ponte, a fisherman there, told Boston NPR affiliate WBUR in a report published Monday. Ponte said that he hadn’t noticed any issues yet.