Representatives from the Norwegian Company Statoil will be in Boothbay to talk with residents about the company's plans for a pilot wind farm in a leased parcel of federal waters 12 miles offshore of Boothbay Harbor.

The meeting will be held at the Boothbay Fire Station off Route 27, just north of Boothbay center, on Monday, June 25, from 4 to 7 p.m.

This is an "open house" meeting with no set agenda, which will give residents a chance to ask questions and raise concerns. My understanding from the company is that this is just the first of a number of such public sessions.

The company has been found by the federal government to be fully capable of undertaking the project should they receive a lease, and the company has decided to continue seeking the full set of permits needed to secure one. If it is permitted, and the company decides to proceed, they plan to erect three 3-megawatt wind towers on the site.

This and future meetings will, I hope, be useful in directing Statoil toward the best win-win strategies for this project. As it moves forward, if it does, we need to be sure that the interests of our local fishing and tourist-based economy is not only held harmless, but is enhanced in every way possible by this development. Statoil needs to hear your voice to ensure that this is the case.

It is important to note that this is a Statoil-sponsored meeting that will give feedback directly to the company. This feedback will go to the company only, and is separate from the process to give feedback to the federal government.

That will be accomplished by another set of meetings, also open to the public, that will be run by the federal government to give feedback on any and all issues relating to whether the permit to build is actually granted. The federal agency in charge is the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. The bureau has an ongoing local, state and federal task force, of which I am a member, to coordinate issues relating to this proposed development.

If you have concerns or questions, please contact me at any time at bmacdon@roadrunner.com, or call 633-0570. I will be glad to try to answer your questions. Meanwhile, I hope to see you on Monday upstairs at the Boothbay Fire Station to meet and greet with Statoil representatives