The Bristol Wind Power Advisory Committee has launched a website to inform and interact with Bristol residents about the Maine Aqua Ventus I offshore-wind project.
The website includes a short survey that asks residents to rate their level of support for the project on a scale of 1-5, from “do not support” to “fully support.”
The survey also asks whether residents have adequate information “to decide if (the project) is right for Bristol” and what else they need to know in order to decide.
“As it stands right now, we don’t really know how the citizens feel, as a whole, about this project,” said Bristol Wind Power Advisory Committee Chairwoman Andrea Cox. The committee’s goal “is to get feedback from our citizens and take their temperature about how they’re feeling about this.”
The committee also needs to know what residents would like to know, so the committee can either provide the information or bring in the leaders of the project to answer questions.
The website has information about the project, links to news articles and other resources, and a table of potential pros and cons for the town of Bristol.
Maine Aqua Ventus I GP LLC plans to install two floating wind turbines in state waters about 12 miles southeast of mainland Bristol and 3 miles south of Monhegan in 2017.
An underwater cable would connect the test site to mainland Bristol. Bristol residents have expressed concern about the project and the impact of the cable on the lobster and shrimp fisheries.
The Bristol Wind Power Advisory Committee will meet next at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 15 at the New Harbor fire station.