By Tux Turkel, Press Herald
March 2, 2021
Three marine vessels that study the makeup and geology of seabeds are scheduled to arrive in Maine over the next week or so to survey the proposed route of an underwater cable that will link a floating, offshore wind turbine near Monhegan Island with the mainland power grid in East Boothbay.
The vessels are scheduled to be on site next Monday through April 4, weather permitting. They are planning to conduct three passes along the 23-mile route, as well as study the area where the turbine will be anchored in state waters south of the island.
While the location of offshore wind turbines has gotten a lot of attention from fishing interests worldwide, the siting of the cables that connect turbines to each other and to the mainland has received less scrutiny, according to Annie Hawkins, executive director of the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance, a Washington, D.C.-based national coalition of fishing industry associations and companies.
The network of cables can have a greater impact on fisheries than the turbine towers and anchoring systems, she said, because they cover more sea bottom. The best practice, Hawkins said, is to work with knowledgeable fishermen to find the optimum routes and bury cables fully whenever possible.