The waters around the Maine island of Monhegan are a powerful
force. Located about 12 nautical miles
offshore, Monhegan sports both a vibrant year-round community and significant
seasonal tourism industry. The island’s
ocean resources – including fish, lobster, wildlife and scenic location – form the
basis for much of its economy.
Nearing the dock, Monhegan.
Monhegan’s waters may also be home to ocean energy resources. In
2009, the Maine Ocean Energy Task Force selected a site off Monhegan as an
offshore wind test site. At the site
about 2 miles south of the island, the University of Maine-led DeepCWind Consortium plans to develop a
scale-model floating platform and test turbine. The Monhegan wind project may be built and installed in 2012.
Monhegan is lashed by powerful waves as well, as evidenced
by stories
of hurricane-spawned waves sweeping people away from the island. Waves
can contain significant amounts of energy; under the right circumstances, some
of that wave
energy can be harnessed to produce usable power. Although there are no formal proposals to
develop wave energy projects off Monhegan, the rocky eastern shore demonstrates
the power of the ocean.
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