To be renewed, LPA licenses must continue to meet
the provisions of DMR Rule 2.90 and 12 M.R.S.A. §6072-C.
DMR Rule 2.90: https://www.maine.gov/dmr/
§6072-C:https://legislature.
Conservation of Maine's Biggest Bay, 2004 - Present. Use search bar or archives list on right
To be renewed, LPA licenses must continue to meet
the provisions of DMR Rule 2.90 and 12 M.R.S.A. §6072-C.
DMR Rule 2.90: https://www.maine.gov/dmr/
§6072-C:https://legislature.
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INSTRUMENTATION & DATA ACQUISITION
Instrumentation & Data Acquisition. Pt1
Instrumentation and Data Part 3
Instrumentation and Data Part 4
Instrumentation and Data Part 5
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DATA REDUCTION
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DATA ANALYSIS
======================
SUMMARY & CONCLUSIONS
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APPENDIX
FIGURES
Fig 2 Bottom Contour at Transect 1
Fig 3 Bottom Contour at Transect 2
Fig 4 Bottom Contour at Transect 3
Fig 5 diagram of data acquisition
Fig 6 Tidal height at transect 1
Fig 7 Tidal height at Transect 2 [Missing]
Fig 9 Tidal Height at the Platform
Fig 10 Perpendicular Component of Velocity at Transect 2 - Station 6
Fig 11 Volume Flow Rates at Transects 2 and 3
Fig 12 Bottom topography of Stockton Harbor
Fig 13 Volume of water in Stockton Harbor versus Elevation at Mean Low Water
DYE TESTS 1 (Modelling planktonic clam larvae)
Fig 14. Average dye concentration 2 to 5 feet from water surface, Transect 2, Station 6
Fig 15. Cross Sectional Areas Corresponding to the Seven Stations at Transect 2.
Fig 16 Cross Sectional view of Dye Concentration in PPB 0550 - 0648 July 16, 1975
Fig 17 Cross Sectional view of Dye Concentration in PPB 0723 - 0747 July 16, 1975
Fig 18 Cross Sectional View of Dye Concentration in PPB 0802-0829 July 16, 1975
Fig 19 Cross Sectional view in PPB of Dye Concentration 0923-0947 July 16, 1975
Fig 20 Cross Sectional view in PPB of Dye Concentration 1018 - 1043 July 16, 1975
Fig 21 Cross Sectional view in PPB of Dye Concentration 1113 - 1128 July 16, 1975
Fig 22 Cross Sectional view in PPB of Dye Concentration 1147 - 1218 July 16, 1975
Fig 23 Cross Sectional view in PPB of Dye Concentration 1241 - 1307 July 16, 1975
Fig 24 Cross Sectional view in PPB of Dye Concentration 1322 - 1404 July 16, 1975
Fig 25 Cross Sectional view in PPB of Dye Concentration 1454 - 1523 July 16, 1975
Fig 26 Cross Sectional view in PPB of Dye Concentration 1536 - 1614 July 16, 1975
Fig 27 Cross Sectional view in PPB of Dye Concentration 1720 - 1750 July 16, 1975
Fig 28 Cross Sectional view in PPB of Dye Concentration 1815 - 1859 July 16, 1975
Fig 29 Cross Sectional view in PPB of Dye Concentration 1911 - 1937 July 16, 1975
Fig 30 Cross Sectional view in PPB of Dye Concentration 1959 - 2017 July 16, 1975
Fig 31 Cross Sectional view in PPB of Dye Concentration 2036 - 2103 July 16, 1975
Fig 32 Cross Sectional view in PPB of Dye Concentration 2218 - 2311 July 16, 1975
Fig 33 Cross Sectional view in PPB of Dye Concentration 0012 July 17, 1975
Fig 34 Cross Sectional view in PPB of Dye Concentration 0027 - 0134 July 17, 1975
Fig 35 Cross Sectional view in PPB of Dye Concentration 0212 - 0251 July 17, 1975
Fig 37 Cross Sectional view in PPB of Dye Concentration 0409 - 0444 July 17, 1975
Fig 38 Cross Sectional view in PPB of Dye Concentration 0506 - 0538 July 17, 1975
Fig 39 Cross Sectional view in PPB of Dye Concentration 0602 - 063 7 July 17, 1975
Fig 40 Cross Sectional view in PPB of Dye Concentration 0649-0719 - July 17, 1975
Fig 41 Cross Sectional view in PPB of Dye Concentration 0731 - 0804 July 17, 1975
Fig 42 Cross Sectional view in PPB of Dye Concentration 0830 - 0900 July 17, 1975Fig 43 Cross Sectional view in PPB of Dye Concentration 1000 -1128 July 17, 1975
Fig 44 Cross Sectional view in PPB of Dye Concentration 1142 - 1210 July 17, 1975
Fig 45 Cross Sectional view in PPB of Dye Concentration 1237 - 1305 July 17, 1975
Fig 46 Cross Sectional view in PPB of Dye Concentration 1407 - 1431 July 17, 1975
Fig 47 Cross Sectional view in PPB of Dye Concentration 1442 - 1506 July 17, 1975
Fig 48 Cross Sectional view in PPB of Dye Concentration 1601-1700 July 17, 1975
Fig 49 Cross Sectional view in PPB of Dye Concentration 1746 -1808 July 17, 1975
Fig 50 Cross Sectional view in PPB of Dye Concentration 1710-1730 July 17, 1975
Fig 51 Cross Sectional view in PPB of Dye Concentration 0550-0648 July 17, 1975
Fig 52 Cross Sectional view in PPB of Dye Concentration 0802-0829 July 17, 1975
Fig 53 Cross Sectional view in PPB of Dye Concentration 1113-1138 July 17, 1975
Fig 54 Cross Sectional view in PPB of Dye Concentration 1322-1404 July 17, 1975
Fig 55 Cross Sectional view in PPB of Dye Concentration 0550-0648 July 17, 1975
Fig 56 Cross Sectional view in PPB of Dye Concentration 0807-0829 July 17, 1975
SALINITY
Fig 57 Cross Sectional view of Salinity in parts per thousand PPT 1113-1138 July 17, 1975
Fig 58 Cross Sectional view of Salinity in parts per thousand PPT [missing]
DYE TESTS 2 CONCENTRATION VS DEPTH
Fig 59 Dye Concentration vs Depth July 16, 1975
Fig 60 Dye Concentration vs Depth July 16, 1975
Fig 61 Dye Concentration vs Depth July 16, 1975
Sears Island 2008
Letter by leaders of the Sears island Joint Use Planning Committee
Sears Island decision a missed opportunity for Maine. by James Gillway, Dianne Smith and Scott Dickerson
"On Tuesday, Nov. 18, the Joint Committee on Transportation of the Maine Legislature made a deeply flawed decision concerning the future of Sears Island. Unless corrected by future action, their vote on the recommendations presented to the committee by the Sears Island Joint Use Planning Committee continues indefinitely the 40-year stalemate concerning the island’s opportunities for both economic development and conservation."
The transportation committee accepted every recommendation of the JUPC, but added a contingency that poisons the potential of real progress for many years, perhaps indefinitely. The JUPC’s key recommendation is to dedicate 330 acres of the island for potential use as a marine port and 601 acres for outdoor recreation, environmental education and ecological protection."
These recommendations were developed through an intensive, 3-year planning process by more than 50 different representatives of transportation, industry, conservation, outdoor recreation, local business, state agencies and town governments. This complete spectrum of interests achieved a consensus to reach beyond gridlock and produce the first comprehensive resolution of this long-contested issue."
The poison pill that the transportation committee inserted into its decision is the contingency that before the conservation land can be established, a port proposed for the island must receive all permits. This decision was neither fair to the people of Maine nor prudent for the future of the island, as demonstrated by these facts:"
The 330 acres for potential port use was delineated by DOT staff and is more than three times the area required for development of a container port."
Finding a private entity to fund and partner with the state to develop a port, design facilities, conduct studies, and proceed through regulatory review will take an unknown number years."
During the past 40 years, six major developments, including one port, have been proposed for Sears Island. Not one has ever received the permits necessary for completion."
Any permitting process for a port on the island must consider alternative sites. Improvement and-or expansion of the existing port at Mack Point might be sufficient to serve the need, further delaying satisfaction of the committee’s contingency for a permit for an island port."
A 2006 economic analysis of the conservation program as proposed for Sears Island determined that the conservation land — including a small visitor, education and maintenance center, multiuse trails and related public access facilities — would attract a projected 23,000 visitors each year who would inject $1.7 million into the economy of the region annually."
Why not commit the 601 acres to conservation now, and allow at least that portion of the island to become a performing asset for the people of Maine? Extensive research by the JUPC determined that this will not conflict with future proposals to use the 330 acres for a port."
In the meantime, the island continues to drain resources from the town of Searsport. It receives no tax revenue from the island due to state ownership, but has to provide police patrols, emergency response, trash removal and other services. Further, because there is no management of the current public use except for concrete barriers and a gate across the entrance road, ecological values of the island are being degraded."
The stalemate perpetuated by the transportation committee’s narrow decision should be corrected through action by the full Legislature, in recognition that the people of Maine have a broad set of interests in Sears Island. The balance of uses proposed by all parties through the JUPC’s recommendations encompass this breadth. The transportation committee’s decision does not."
It is time for the entire Legislature to consider the future of Sears Island, the value of the recently thwarted JUPC’s proposed compromise, and vote to take responsibility for stewardship of this important state asset."
END
Written by James Gillway, Dianne Smith and Scott Dickerson
James Gillway is Searsport’s town manager; Dianne Smith is co-chairwoman of the Joint Use Planning Committee; Scott Dickerson is executive director of Coastal Mountains Land Trust. All three served on the committee that crafted the compromise planAnother happy event has transpired since the Legislature's Joint Transportation Committee adopted the Savage Plan, which withholds approval of Maine Coast Heritage Trust's easement over 2/3 of the island, and establishment of an educational center, until a port and railyard is fully permitted on the remaining third.
Part 1 Department of Marine Resources
DMR FOAA contact Charlene.L.Beringer 624-6553 32 Blossom Ln Augusta ME 04333-0017
logiLINKS
https://www.carrabassettvalley.org/wp-content/uploads/assets-migrated/SugarloafAirportTaxiwayHangarSLDA3.pdf
Audio recordings of meetings and hearings of Maine Legislature's Transportation Committee and MDOT's Sears Island Joint Use Planning Committee, 2007-2009 (mp3s)
Joint Use Planning Committee Agendas & Meeting Summaries, 2007-2008
Joint Use Planning Committee Official Documents 2007-2009
Sears Island Media Archive 1980's -1990s
Sears Island WERU Debate: Sierra Club v. Fair Play for Sears Island.
Sears Island LNG Struggle 2004-2005
Sears Island Woodchip port struggle 1990's
From the Belfast Republican Journal May 23, 2024
Ultimately, I believe, the problem resides with the VolturnUS foundation. The 20-year-old design, patented in 2009, is untested at full size, unproven, and obsolete long before it can be deployed. There is no reason to believe this high cost, high LCOE (levelized cost of electricity) (levelized cost of electricity) foundation can ever be commercialized.
Yet the state wants to spend close to a billion dollars on a purpose-built manufacturing facility specifically tailored to the unique manufacturing needs of the University of Maine-designed floater.
There was no competition to assess other, competitive, designs more likely to succeed commercially. They didn’t investigate the port requirements and costs for the assembly of other floating foundations, nor did they find out which foundations have the lowest LCOE, which is the main driver in consumer utility rates.
There was no examination of what is currently being commercially deployed, at scale, in the North Sea.
Ironic, I suppose, in part because they are shutting down the 22-year-old floating wind farm there, the world’s oldest, for “heavy maintenance” while the world’s largest floating wind farms are operating there.
Nor did they look at a floating wind farm off Portugal that has been grid-connected since 2020. It seems little, if any, due diligence was performed at all.
And now we have learned that that VolturnUS foundation has washed out of the Department of Energy’s Floating Offshore Wind ReadINess competition to “develop offshore wind supply chains,” failing to advance from phase 2.
The rules for the nine competitors in the second phase of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory-sponsored competition read: “During Phase Two, teams will research and develop plans to transition their floating platform technologies from proven designs to serial production for deployment in gigawatt-scale wind farms.” It seems they failed.
We don’t yet know why the UMaine floater foundered but the fact that all five finalists have two similar attributes speaks volumes. They all tout some form of modularity, allowing for flexibility in manufacturing, either on site or at satellite locations (i.e., Bath Iron Works) and also have modest port requirements to assemble the modules. Both attributes drive down costs, contributing to a lower LCOE and promising serial production of one completed turbine per week.
The VolturnUS foundation has neither attribute.
The sad fact is that the VolturnUS foundation should have been deployed 15 years ago but wasn’t because the LePage administration was firmly against it. But now its time has come, and gone.
If Maine is to get it right, the Mills administration must change course.
It needs to set a goal of rapid deployment of the lowest-cost floating offshore wind turbines by minimizing port development costs and maximizing industrialized serial production of the most competitive foundations and turbines. It could save hundreds of millions of dollars, quantifiable only by an open examination of the alternatives.
It also could allow for faster deployment from a modified Mack Point Terminal, mainly requiring a suitable quay, a very tall crane, lay-down areas for blades and nacelles, and storage for the modular components. The planned Salem, Massachusetts, wind port is only 42 acres, and they claim they will be floating foundation-capable.
Sears Island can still be reserved for future transportation needs and we can make real progress toward the 3-gigawatt goal in the Gulf of Maine by decade’s end.
But it must begin with turning the page on the VolturnUS foundation and starting anew.
David Italiaander has over 50 years of experience in international trade, shipping, ports and terminals that inform his pragmatic, fact-based approach. He lives in Searsport.