Bangor Daily News series on alternative energy projects

Two island groups pursuing wind power to combat escalating costs
By Bill Trotter
Staff Writer Bangor Daily News

Editor’s Note: This is the first in a three-part Bangor Daily News series covering plans for alternative energy projects on Maine’s offshore islands.

Since their earliest days, residents of Maine’s offshore islands have been known for being self-reliant, using what is immediately available to them in order to help sustain themselves.

The natural resources of these islands made them attractive to early colonists from Europe who were looking to establish permanent settlements in the Western Hemisphere. The islands had wind to move sailing vessels, trees to provide lumber for housing, and surrounding waters filled with fish to feed the islanders.

But myriad economic changes over the past century have had significant effects on these aspects of island living, prompting many island residents to look to the mainland for food, jobs or other resources. Now that some of these changes are becoming even more pronounced — affecting mainlanders as well as island residents — some Maine island communities are reconsidering natural resources that helped lead to their permanent settlement centuries ago.

Rapidly escalating energy costs is one of the biggest issues facing many of the island communities, island officials have said, and have led two groups of offshore Maine islands to tackle the issue head-on by pursuing wind power projects. The Fox Islands Electric Cooperative, which serves Vinalhaven and North Haven, and the Swan’s Island Electric Cooperative, which serves Swan’s Island and neighboring Frenchboro, each are looking into the possibility of erecting a few large wind turbines in order to help satisfy their electricity needs and perhaps even reduce electric bills for their members.

According to island officials, members of the two co-ops and residents of other islands that have their own electric power distribution entities pay rates that are roughly twice those paid by a typical residential customer on the mainland, and three times the national average. The average monthly electric bill on many of the islands, they say, is about $150.

"Electricity prices are killing us out here," said George Baker, a Harvard Business School professor and seasonal Frenchboro resident who has been working on the projects with the co-ops and the Rockland-based Island Institute. Baker, who is on sabbatical this year from Harvard so he can research the economic feasibility of the projects, also sits on the board of the Swan’s Island Electric Cooperative.

According to Baker, the possibility of generating electricity from wind power, which would shield island residents from the volatility of world energy markets and enable them to mitigate costs by seasonally selling excess power back into the regional power grid, has proved to be a strong motivator in pursuing the projects.

"Wind blows [on the islands] all the time," he said recently. "It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to say, ‘Gosh! Maybe we should consider wind power here.’ It truly is a no-brainer."

http://www.bangornews.com/news/t/news.aspx?articleid=168589&zoneid=500








(Bangor Daily News/Kate Collins)

Rising energy costs challenge remote Monhegan, Matinicus
By Bill Trotter
Staff Writer Bangor Daily News

Editor’s Note: This is the second part of the Bangor Daily News’ three-part series on energy issues on Maine’s offshore islands. Today’s story covers the special problems faced by residents of the more distant Monhegan and Matinicus islands.

Of all the residential power users in the state of Maine, the ones that pay the highest rates may be the ones that live farthest from land.

Monhegan and Matinicus are two of Maine’s seven offshore island communities that have their own electric cooperatives, which charge higher rates than private retail power companies that serve the rest of the state. Because the island co-ops own and maintain their own distribution systems and have relatively few users to help cover the infrastructure costs, their members typically pay $150 for their monthly electric bills, approximately twice what residential users on the mainland pay, according to island officials.

Two other offshore island groups have populations large enough that they could buy and use large, commercial-scale wind turbines for generating power. The Fox Islands Electric Cooperative, which serves Vinalhaven and North Haven in Penobscot Bay, is considering acquiring two or three large turbines, while the Swan’s Island Electric Cooperative, which serves Swan’s Island and neighboring Frenchboro, is thinking about acquiring one or two.

Each co-op would use the turbines to generate electricity for their members, and during part of the year, could sell their excess electricity into the regional power grid by underwater power cables that connect them to the mainland — a move that officials say could stabilize and perhaps even reduce the islanders’ monthly power bills.

Monhegan and Matinicus, even though they also tend to be windy places, don’t have this option, however. They have relatively small populations, which would make it more difficult for the islands to shell out between $2 million and $3 million for a large turbine. Their distances from shore — Monhegan is about 10 miles out to sea and Matinicus more than 20 — is another obstacle. The cost of laying underwater cable, which can be hundreds of thousands of dollars for even a few miles, is prohibitively expensive for these small communities, each with fewer than 100 year-round residents.

Because they don’t have cable connections to the mainland, Matinicus and Monhegan generate their power the same way they have for decades. They use diesel fuel, the cost of which has dramatically increased, especially in the past year.

This is why electricity bills on these islands tend to be about a third higher than on other islands with electric co-ops that import power by underwater cables. A year ago, the average cost of diesel in the Bangor area was less than $3 a gallon, but now it is around $4.50 a gallon, according to AAA. In July, it was nearly $5 a gallon.

http://bangornews.com/news/t/news.aspx?articleid=168622&zoneid=500


(Bangor Daily News file/John Clarke Russ)

Islands explore energy options
By Bill Trotter
Staff Writer Bangor Daily News

Editor’s Note: This is the third and final story in the Bangor Daily News’ look at energy issues and initiatives on Maine’s offshore islands.

Rising energy prices have become a concern for all Maine residents, but for many offshore island communities, they are an even greater concern.

Residents of offshore islands with their own electric cooperatives pay higher rates for electricity because, unlike customers of large retail electricity companies, they are responsible for their local distribution infrastructure and have fewer users on their systems to help cover costs.

The Fox Islands, comprising Vinalhaven and North Haven, and Swan’s Island and Frenchboro are considering wind turbine power projects that would stabilize and perhaps even reduce electricity costs for residents.

Monhegan and Matinicus, more-remote islands with co-ops that depend on diesel generators for electricity, have the highest expenses because they have fewer residents to help pay for infrastructure and because of the current high cost of diesel fuel. Both Monhegan and Matinicus, which because of their far-flung ocean locales have ample wind resources, have resident panels that are looking into islandwide approaches to reducing energy bills.

Other offshore island communities, however, are taking different approaches to how they might help residents save on energy costs. Some are encouraging residents to take an individual approach, and though some need no such encouragement, others are just beginning to explore the possibilities.

http://www.bangornews.com/news/t/midcoast.aspx?articleid=168670&zoneid=179




(Photos By Bangor Daily News/Kate Collins)