March 2, 2017 — Locals and fishermen wondering how floating wind turbines will affect fishing grounds and the feel of their town had a chance to air questions and grievances to people behind the project this week.
“We need the resource to fish on, but we also need to be able to get to the resource,” said Richard Nelson, a 30-plus-year lobsterman based out of Friendship. “It’s a balancing act. Renewables are positive unto themselves, but as fisherman we have to be able to get to the fish.”
Fishermen worry about how close they’ll be able to get to the turbines without entering restricted space, and also want to avoid getting traps stuck on underwater wires and moorings. Those boundaries likely will be set by the U.S. Coast Guard much later in the planning process.
The University of Maine’s vision for an offshore energy farm made up of floating turbines is grinding toward fruition, scheduled to start running electricity to the grid by 2019.
The U.S. Department of Energy, University of Maine Advanced Structures Composites Center and its partners hosted a pair of informational sessions on Tuesday at the St. George Town Hall, drawing a few dozen locals. The group is scheduled to host a similar session Wednesday, March 1, on Monhegan Island, where some residents have expressed trepidation or outright opposition to the selected location of the pair of turbines.