A group of residents from Monhegan Island are calling on the partners in the Maine Aqua Ventus offshore wind project to move their massive turbines further away from the island, saying the proposed project will do “irreparable harm” to their community 10 miles off the Maine coast. 

In a letter sent last month to the project partners, Travis Dow of the newly formed group, Protect Monhegan, said, “Monhegan is Maine’s most iconic offshore island and a place of major historical significance and natural beauty. The location of massive wind turbines less than three miles from Monhegan’s shores threatens the beauty and tranquility that has made Monhegan such a special place for so many for generations.”

The letter was sent to the leaders of the Aqua Ventus partnership:  Emera, Inc., Cianbro Corporation, and the University of Maine and its Advanced Structures & Composites Center. Dow, a Monhegan resident, town official, and small businessperson, said that he has yet to receive a response.

According to Dow, what began several years ago as a proposal for a 1/8 scale wind turbine to be located off Monhegan for only two five-month periods, has now become a full-scale wind energy project, with two massive wind turbines (approximately 600 feet tall) to be located just two and a-half miles off Monhegan for the next 20 years or more.

Dow said Monhegan residents were not aware of the implications of the legislation that allowed this project to go forward on a fast track. There are no height restrictions in the legislation, and UMaine spoke only of an 85’ model being in the test site. Dow also said that the community was not represented in the negotiation of the subsequent term sheet between the Maine Public Utilities Commission and the Aqua Ventus partners, which was signed prior to Monhegan hiring a lawyer.

“The whole process has been littered with misinformation and closed door meetings,” Dow said.

The Protect Monhegan letter reminds the AquaVentus project partners of Monhegan’s history, noting that it was used as a fishing camp by Native Americans, was visited by European explorers even before the Plymouth Colony was established and has been home to generations of fishing families. Monhegan also has been an inspiration to many of America’s foremost artists, and is visited by thousands of tourists and summer residents each year.

“Monhegan’s special character can never be replaced, but your wind turbines can — and must — be moved out of the island’s sightlines,” the letter states. “Simply put, Monhegan is no place to experiment with wind turbines or to establish a commercial wind farm, any more than it would be to place these massive turbines this close to Acadia National Park or Mt. Katahdin. Surely there must be other locations in the vast Gulf of Maine that would serve your purposes without forever marring Monhegan’s unrivalled 360-degree view of the ocean and incredible night skies,”

Dow also noted the importance of Monhegan from an ecological standpoint. The island is arguably the most important landfall in Maine for migrating birds along the North Atlantic Flyway.  Monhegan was designated a National Natural Landmark by the National Park Service in 1966, and the waters around Monhegan were designated a Lobster Conservation Area by the State of Maine in 1997.

Members of Protect Monhegan support the further exploration and development of offshore wind, but their letter makes it clear that they are adamant in their belief that putting wind turbines so close to Monhegan will do “irreparable harm to our beloved island.”

Protect Monhegan (facebook.com/ProtectMonhegan) is made up of island year-round residents, summer residents and friends of Monhegan. The group has been formed to fight the proposed location of the Maine Aqua Ventus wind turbines and to create a thoughtful, comprehensive, realistic vision for the island for the next 50 to 100 years.

In addition to Dow, who serves as president, other officers are Candis Cousins, vice president, Paul Hitchcox, treasurer, and Kathie Iannicelli, secretary. Protect Monhegan can be found online at facebook.com/ProtectMonhegan and can be reached by email at protectmonhegan@gmail.com or by phone at 207-691-1399.