On January 21, 2022, page 5 (and online), the Falmouth Enterprise published a Letter to the Editor entitled “Many Unanswered Questions“, written by Heights residents Melanie and Steve Markowski. Below is the full text.
As many Falmouth residents know, Falmouth has been selected as a potential onshoring site for the New England offshore wind industry’s infrastructure development.
Our federal government has not developed a plan to build the necessary onshoring infrastructure and has left that responsibility to regional governments and private markets. As a result, individual companies, primarily large European oil and gas companies, are vying with local communities to onshore electricity. Sites to onshore are the most critical hurdle for offshore wind, and the financial incentive to gain access to onshoring sites is immense.
Shell Oil Corporation (Mayflower Wind) has selected Falmouth Heights to onshore a 1,200-megawatt electrical transmission line. The line will transmit between 800 and 1,200MW at any given time. To put that into perspective, that is equal to the power required to supply between 320,000 and 480,000 homes, approximately 11 to 16 percent of the state of Massachusetts.
It can be reasonably concluded that Shell Oil Corporation chose Falmouth Heights because it is the best location for its bottom line. But is it the best location for Falmouth? Are there commercial areas that are options? Are there nonresidential options? Has the Falmouth Harbor been considered? And if not, why not?
We don’t know what it will look like and how it will be maintained. Will we have to close a popular beach in the middle of summer for unscheduled maintenance? Dig up the area multiple times as capacity is added? Create a vegetation dead zone from the heat emitted by underground high-power transmission lines? One thing is clear, the demand for clean energy will only increase in the future. Are we opening a door we can’t close or control? There are so many unanswered questions.
The road along the Heights from the Falmouth Yacht Club to Bristol Beach is arguably the most beautiful oceanside stretch in Falmouth. The road, beaches and parks in the Heights are all accessible to the general public. Because so many areas in Falmouth are private, the Heights is an invaluable asset to the town and its residents and should be preserved and protected.
There may not be a suitable onshoring site in Falmouth. It’s risky to get involved in early development and the lack of a unified plan from the federal government adds to that risk. The New England wind field sits off many of our industrial cities in the Northeast. Surely there are more suitable sites for onshore infrastructure development and its certain future capacity needs.
Melanie and Steve Markowski
Worcester Court
Falmouth