PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 22, 2023
Decisions about developing renewable energy in Maine require accurate information. The Alliance for Sears Island, a coalition of individuals and organizations, supports developing an offshore wind port at Mack Point and opposes doing so on Sears Island, if any such facility is to be built in Penobscot Bay. Port construction costs are essentially equal, but statutorily required mitigation costs to construct the port on Sears Island are expected to be enormous. Mack Point, an industrial port for more than 100 years, is not a pristine natural place that will incur even slightly comparable mitigation costs. The 2007 Sears Island Planning Initiative agreement clearly stipulated that “Mack Point shall be given preference as an alternative to port development on Sears Island.” ~ Rolf Olsen, Steve Miller, and Scott Dickerson, Alliance for Sears Island