Power for Monhegan Island

On Monhegan Island
Photo: Aislinn Sarnacki, Bangor Daily News

  Monhegan Island a Town offshore in Maine has 269 year round residents, and the population will double in the summer and tourists will be added to that.  The problem is electricity.  Unlike North Haven the only power on Monhegan is generated by four large diesel generators.  On the mainland in Maine electricity costs about 14.6 cents per kilowatt hour (above the national average of 11.0 cents) but on the Island it costs 70.0 cents.
  A promising offshore wind farm would bring the cost of power down dramatically but it won't happen anytime soon.  A European company that wanted to help build the wind farm was re-buffed by Maine's Governor and the University of Maine which would have built it only received a fraction of the federal money the other company would have received.  The Governor was born in the dark, even if it wasn't last night.

The Town Landing
Photo: Aislinn Sarnacki Bangor Daily News

No wind farm in sight
Photo: Aislinn Sarnacki Bangor Daily News