BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 21, 2023
Maine offshore wind port planners now acknowledge the projected construction cost to develop a manufacturing, assembling and launching facility at either Mack Point or Sears Island in Penobscot Bay are essentially the same. And the dredging needed to develop such a port at Mack Point is now understood to be nominal. This limited dredging can be undertaken with little or no impact on water quality, while clear-cutting trees, filling wetlands and harvesting more than a million cubic yards of soil on Sears Island are necessary to develop the facility there. If Maine pursues building an offshore wind port facility in Penobscot Bay, Mack Point is best for business, best for the environment and best for Maine. ~ Stephen Miller, Islesboro Islands Trust