Three offshore wind-power test sites unveiled as Maine positions itself to become a leader in renewable energy production

Bangor Daily News 12/16/09

AUGUSTA, Maine — Government officials and researchers who seek to build ocean-based wind and wave turbines in the Gulf of Maine unveiled three sites Tuesday where prototypes will be constructed.

Tuesday’s announcement puts Maine one step closer to becoming the first state in the nation to create offshore wind test and demonstration sites, which according to University of Maine professor Habib Dagher will position the state at the forefront of a widespread effort to tap renewable energy sources.

“Our vision is to put Maine in front of the country and the world in the development of offshore wind power,” said Dagher, who as director of the university’s Advanced Structures and Composites Center plans to conduct research with three wind turbines at one of the locations announced Tuesday.

The three sites, selected by a consortium of government and private agencies, include one off Boon Island, near the southern Maine town of York; one off Damariscove Island near the town of Boothbay; and the third near Monhegan Island, located some 25 miles from Maine’s midcoast region. All three sites, which measure between 1 and 2 square miles, are in Maine’s territorial waters, which means the state — as opposed to the federal government — will retain regulatory authority.

FMI

Jim's comment: "These sites all will be visible from the remote islands nearby. I expect some outcry once the artist's rendering show the new view."

**UPDATE** "That didn't take long!"

Local fishermen not happy with Boon Island as turbine selection

Seacoast Online.com 12/16

YORK, Maine — Local fishermen have raised a number of concerns about the state's plans to use Boon Island as a demonstration site for offshore wind turbine testing.

The turbines would take away prime fishing, lobstering and shrimping areas, according to lobsterman Pat White of York, who initiated two recent meetings on the issue at the York Senior Center.

At least a dozen fishermen and lobstermen attended each.

White represents fishermen on the governor's task force, serves on the Maine State Lobsterman's Association and is president of the Gulf of Maine Lobster Foundation.

"It seriously disrupts the lobster community because the guys that fish there will have to move over into someone else's territory," said White.

FMI

Republican Journal Nov. 30

Belfast — Nearly 40 people took a train ride over the rails of the former Belfast and Moosehead Lake Railroad line Nov. 21, making it almost as far as the Penobscot Frozen Foods factory on the waterfront.

The train ride was made possible by the Brooks Preservation Society, a rail preservation group based in Brooks that has worked to restore and repair the 33-mile rail line, as well as some of the trains that used to travel over it.

BPS holds a two-year lease from Unity Property Management to operate the three miles of track that UPM owns in Belfast. The group's goal has been to bring a train with paying customers back into downtown Belfast.

The Nov. 21 trip was the realization of a goal that BPS worked all fall to reach, according to members of the group. The train — made up of an engine, a 60-seat coach, an open observation car and two cabooses — left the Brooks station at 11:05 a.m. that day, and made its first stop at the Waldo station.

There, the engine was moved to the rear of the train. The engine pushed the train toward Belfast, with a brakeman and the engineer (riding on the rear platform of the caboose) maintaining constant radio contact.

At around 12:30 p.m., the train stopped as near to downtown Belfast as it could — a few hundred feet short of Pierce Street, at the western edge of the Penobscot Frozen Foods building.

The brakeman returned to the engine, and the train - with the engine now at its head — began its return to Brooks. The train did make a stop at the Upper Bridge Road crossing to take a group photo of everyone who came along for the trip.

The train arrived back in Brooks at 2:30 p.m. According to BPS, this was the last scheduled train to Belfast for the 2009 season.

In 2010, however, the group plans to make more trips to Belfast, and plans to do so on a regular, scheduled basis. There will also be trips to other parts of the rail line.

Jim's comment: "Patti, Bear, & I wonder what it will take to have the train continue to Belfast?"

Republican Journal Nov. 23

Belfast — The time-honored adage "Many hands make light work" proved true Saturday morning in Belfast as more than 6,500 individual cans, boxes, bags and packages of food were distributed assembly-line style into boxes to create everything a family needs to make their own special dinner this Thanksgiving. And the many hands were courtesy of the more than 200 Waldo County residents of all ages and sizes who gathered Nov. 21 in Belfast at the Tarratine Tribe building to lend a hand to families in need this holiday season.

The annual holiday basket project is led and organized by the Waldo Community Action Partners and People For People and provides holiday dinner baskets for both Thanksgiving and Christmas...

FMI

Jim's comment: "Here's an example of why we love Belfast. Patti & I joined over 200 citizens of all ages getting together to help others. I was impressed by the organizational abilities and youthfullness of the WCAP organiers. Plus it was really FUN! The next event is Dec. 19th for Christmas baskets. See you there! FMI."