By Carol McCracken

The Peaks Island Council, (“PIC) unanimously approved a resolution Wednesday evening, March 25 supporting the testing of the wind to see if a wind turbine on the Island is justified. The resolution was put forth by the Peaks Island Energy & Action Team, (“PEAT”).

Ultimately, PEAT hopes the Portland City Council will approve the resolution as well. That could pave the way for the City to forgive the 35 ft. height restriction on the Island in this case. “We thank Energy & Environmental Sustainability Committee chair, David Marshall, for his assistance with these procedural matters,” said Sam Saltonstall, a spokesperson for PEAT in a press release.

It appears that the Trott-Littlejohn Park will be the testing site for the wind tower. There are no easements on this City owned land. Unity College hopes to have the tower in place by this summer. The data collected after a year will be analyzed, free of cost. If the potential for wind power is good it could then be matched to several turbines of similar size to determine which turbine can produce the most power given the results of the tests. The analysis will be provided by Unity as it trains its students for careers in the wind power industry.

Finally, the tower would be supported by guy wires which come down to four points where they are anchored into the ground. “We are aware that Trott is used for hiking and skiing during the winter and would like to hear from you if you have specific concerns about the tower so that we can try to factor those into the siting process,” said Sam.

Please call Sam on Peaks Island at 899-0922. if you have questions about the proposed wind power testing on Peaks Island.