SEARSPORT – Friends of Sears Island, along with members of Islesboro Islands Trust, Sierra Club Maine, and others, will present a rally for Sears Island on Saturday, Oct. 8, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., in the parking lot of Mermaid Plaza, 1 East Main Street in Searsport (the building with the blue roof on the right as you enter town from Belfast).
The public is invited to attend and learn more about Maine Department of Transportation’s proposal to develop a “Wind Port” in Searsport. It is considering developing Sears Island, one of the largest undeveloped islands on the Eastern Seaboard of the U.S., into the hub for building and launching floating offshore wind turbines, according to Friends, in a news release.
“This would significantly diminish the island’s ecological, recreational, and economic value, when re-developing Mack Point, an industrial site for more than a century, is a feasible and ‘greener”’option in Penobscot Bay,” said Friends. “If you love Sears Island, make a sign, and show your love! If you have an interest in the future of Sears Island, come learn more and let your voice be heard.”
Free hamburgers and hot dogs, starting at noon while they last.
Live traditional and Celtic music with Searsport’s own Sea Strings Community Orchestra, from noon until 2 p.m.
What you need to know: The Proposed Wind Port & Protecting Sears Island Friends of Sears Island will hold a free public meeting on Wednesday, October 12, from 6:30 to 8 p.m., in the Abbott Room at Belfast Free Library, to give an update on the status of the proposal to develop a “wind port” in Searsport. Large floating wind turbines would be constructed and launched from the port for deployment in the Gulf of Maine. At this meeting Friends of Sears Island will review the process so far and provide analysis of new information that is expected to come during the September 29 meeting of the Offshore Wind Port Advisory Group in Augusta.
Sears Island and Mack Point are identified as feasible locations for this port, if such a port will be built in Penobscot Bay, according to Friends.
“If Sears Island is chosen for this development, it would destroy the island’s ecological, recreational, and economic value, while re-developing Mack Point, an industrial site for more than a century, into a renewable energy site offers a ‘greener’ option,” said the release.
To learn more about the state’s plan, go to https://friendsofsearsisland.org/osw-resources/.
Event Date:
Sat, 10/08/2022 – 10:00am to 4:00pm
Event Location:
Mermaid Plaza
Address:
1 East Main Street
Searsport, ME 04974
United States
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2022/09/29/conservation-groups-to-rally-against-proposed-sears-island-wind-turbines/