Environmental activists who oppose Maine’s effort to develop an offshore wind terminal on Sears Island are urging the town of Searsport to take their side and push for the project to be moved to nearby Mack Point.
The opponents were planning to present their case to the Searsport Select Board on Tuesday night, opening a new front in their effort to change the state’s plans, but one that might not get them very far.
While town officials have welcomed the construction of the offshore wind staging site in Searsport, they say they’re neutral on the question of which of the two sites — Sears Island or Mack Point — is better.
And Town Manager James Gillway, who co-chaired the state’s Offshore Wind Port Advisory Group, said the town has no legal ability to influence where the state, which owns Sears Island, chooses to pursue the terminal.
Activists are opposed to the development of Sears Island because of its environmental significance, said Chris Buchanan, a Searsport resident who has been organizing residents to urge government officials to choose Mack Point. Sears Island is the largest undeveloped island in the state, Buchanan said, and being able to experience the nature of it for free is “the best thing about our town.”
“We think that if the state wants a renewable energy future or clean energy future, they need to leave intact forests and wetlands in place, because they have been determined to be actually more important for climate resilience,” Buchanan said.
He said the group of residents was planning to ask the Select Board to follow in Islesboro’s footsteps and submit a letter to the state urging it to give preference to the Mack Point option instead. It’s already industrialized, and the development of Mack Point would still bring jobs to Maine, Buchanan added.
Gillway said there are many strong opinions about whether Mack Point or Sears Island would be the better site, but the town is staying neutral. Whatever happens, he said, he’s sure that state officials will follow all land use restrictions as they pursue the project.
However, Gillway has previously provided a form of endorsement to the Sears Island plan that’s now being pursued. When Gov. Janet Mills first announced the decision to develop the terminal on Sears Island in February, he was quoted in the administration’s press release as being supportive of the project moving forward.
“I am pleased that four years of hard work and public engagement have resulted in today’s selection of a wind port location. This decision keeps the ball rolling and moves us much closer to the State’s goals,” Gillway said in the release.
In an interview, Gillway noted that there will be more opportunities for public comment when the state seeks federal permits to develop the terminal, and he encouraged residents to share their views at that time.
However, it’s not entirely clear what’s next for the project, or when federal permitting will begin, as the Legislature is currently split on whether the wind port should be exempt from coastal sand dune protections. The administration is seeking that exemption because of a sand dune on Sears Island that formed as a result of a jetty that was built there.
Mills has said the Sears Island location will cost less than Mack Point because the island is already owned by the state, while Mack Point is privately owned. She has also cited dredging problems associated with developing Mack Point.
About a third of Sears Island has been set aside to be used for transportation after the state bought the island in the late 1990s, while the rest is meant to be conserved.
Once the state starts the permitting process, it will also have to provide alternatives to the site it chooses, and federal officials will have some influence over the decision, Gillway said.
If the offshore wind project goes through, it could be operational by 2029.