Some Bristol residents have begun a petition drive seeking to enact a ban on the placement of high powered transmission cables.
Friends of Muscongus Bay hosted a meeting April 21, to provide an update of their efforts to oppose the ocean windmill research project, slated for installation 2 miles south of Monhegan Island by 2017.
The meeting was led by the Friends’ co-founder and year-round Bristol resident Andrew Fenniman. The group was formed to oppose the pilot project.
The group already has 120 members and has received donations, Fenniman said. “People have been very generous,” he said.
Maine Aqua Ventus I GP LLC is the company behind the project. The company is a partnership of Cianbro Corp., Emera Inc. and Maine Prime Technologies LLC, a company representing the University of Maine.
According to Bristol resident Jason Lord, 160 signatures, 10 percent of the number of registered Bristol voters who participated in the 2012 presidential election, are required to present a valid petition to the board of selectmen. Lord said he had already obtained 75 signatures and circulated the petition in the meeting.
Present at the meeting were eight to 10 fishermen from Friendship, several of whom voiced their opposition to the windmill location site.
One fisherman present said, “In Maine we have this inshore lobster fishery that goes the whole length of the coast. Anywhere you go within 20 or 30 miles, you’re going to affect some lobsterman somewhere. Other states don’t have that.”
Another voiced his concern as to whether or not the Friends of Muscongus Bay were only concerned with the cable coming ashore in Bristol. He asked if the group is also opposed to the location of the windmills and the entire test project.
“The site itself is the problem,” Fenniman said. “The cable just adds insult to injury.” Several Friendship fishermen nodded their heads in response to his comment.
“I don’t think we can battle them out there, but if they can’t bring it ashore, we can control that via the townspeople of Bristol,” Lord said.
Fenniman said, “I think the question becomes, would there be another site within the state that would cause less damage. Part of me thinks there has to be, in all the waters we have.”
