June 30, 2011 - court lets Monhegan offshore wind site move forward

A court has cleared the waters off the Maine island of Monhegan for the development of an offshore wind pilot project.  Back in December 2009, the Maine Ocean Energy Task Force selected Monhegan and two other sites -- Boon Island and Damariscove Island -- as test sites for offshore wind development.  At the Monhegan site, the DeepCWind Consortium, a group led by the University of Maine, plans to develop a scale-model floating platform and test turbine about 2 miles south of the island.

Connecting islanders to the mainland, the Sea Queen provides mailboat and passenger service to the Cranberry Isles.

Monhegan is a gem of an island.  Situated about 12 nautical miles offshore, the island supports a year-round population of about 75, with summers bringing about 6,000 visitors and summer residents ashore.  Monhegan is not connected to the mainland by electric transmission lines, with most of the electricity on the island coming from a 300 kW diesel generator.  To many,  the combination of community and ocean energy resources makes Monhegan an attractive test site for offshore wind.

The project is not without its opponents, though a court ruling last week has cleared at least one obstacle to project development.  In January 2010, shortly after the Monhegan site was selected, an environmental activist filed a lawsuit against the Maine Department of Conservation, arguing that the Department had illegally approved the Monhegan site without considering the impact of the project on birds, the environment, and the aesthetics of the project as viewed from the island.  The activist claimed to have legal standing to challenge the approval on grounds including a constitutional right to practice religion through conservation stewardship.  Last week, after reviewing the evidence upon which the Department made its decision -- 359 pages of documents assessing the impacts of the project -- Superior Court Justice Jeffrey Hjelm issued an order finding that although the activist did have standing to challenge the Department's action, the Department's decision complied with the law and is valid.

This ruling helps clear the way for the Monhegan project to move forward, but there are still more steps to be taken, including both engineering and regulatory hurdles to pass.  DeepCWind anticipates installing the first one-third scale test platform in 2012.

November 15, 2010 - Monhegan energy: wind?

Maine has designated the waters offshore of Monhegan Island as a test site for offshore wind energy development.

[Photo: down by the dock, Monhegan Island, Maine.]

The DeepCWind Consortium is planning to develop a one-third scale test platform and turbine about two miles south of Monhegan Island.  Exactly what type of platform will be tested is still up in the air, but choices under consideration include single spar, tension leg, and buoyancy stabilized designs.

Who is DeepCWind?  It's a consortium composed of a mix of private businesses and academics.  DeepCWind has been successful at grant writing and fundraising; for example, the US Department of Energy has awarded the consortium an $8 million grant to support its research.

The Monhegan site was announced by Governor Baldacci last December as one of three offshore wind test sites.  The Monhegan energy site will be developed by DeepCWind, while two other sites - one near York, Maine's Boon Island, and one off Damariscove Island near Boothbay - will be developed by private companies.  Each site measures between 1 and 2 square miles, and all fall within in Maine’s territorial waters.  The upshot of this is that Maine, not the federal government, will have authority to regulate siting issues.

If DeepCWind succeeds, within two years, we'll see an offshore wind energy test site in the waters south of Monhegan.

August 4, 2010 - House CLEAR Act; Monhegan energy

One of the dominant forms of energy on Monhegan Island, Maine: propane tanks.  About 10 miles offshore, Monhegan does not have any electric cables to the mainland, relying instead on a 300-kilowatt diesel generator. For home heating, cooking, lighting and even refrigeration, many island residents still use propane.  Monhegan is also considering wind resources.

On July 30, 2010, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 3534, the Consolidated Land, Energy, and Aquatic Resources (CLEAR) Act by a vote of 209 to 193.  Much of CLEAR came from the previous Blowout Prevention Act of 2010 (H.R. 5626) (things like requiring blowout preventers, CEO accountability, etc.)

CLEAR also does the following:

• Shifts around Dept of Interior agencies (abolishes the Minerals Management Service)
• Reforms Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act and Federal Onshore Oil and Gas Leasing Program to protect environment and safety, and to repeal certain royalty relief and royalty-in-kind provisions
• Reforms oil and gas royalties.
• Full funding for the Land and Water Conservation and Historic Preservation Funds.
• Alternative energy development, specifically leasing federal land for commercial wind and solar leasing program.  The Bureau of Land Management and US Forest Service can lease land for commercial wind and solar projects.  It has a transmission savings provision ("Nothing in this title shall affect the authority of a Federal agency to issue right-of-way grants for electric transmission facilities.")
• Coordination and planning.  Better interagency coordination on the use of Federal energy resources.
• Geothemal production expansion.
• Conservation fee on all oil and gas leases on Federal onshore and offshore lands.  $2 per barrel of oil, 20 cents per million Btu of gas, sunsetting in 2021.