PORTSMOUTH — The Portsmouth Planning Department, along with URI’s Coastal Resources Center and Rhode Island Sea Grant, will host a forum on Wednesday, Nov. 16, to discuss the science and factual information behind off-shore wind projects. 

The event will run from 6-8 p.m. at the The CFP Arts, Wellness and Community Center on Anthony Road in Common Fence Point. 

Mayflower Wind Energy LLC has created a buzz in town regarding its application to the R.I. Energy Facility Siting Board for a license to construct a major energy facility. Mayflower is proposing to construct transmission connector cables that will connect its offshore wind generation to the regional transmission system. The project, as proposed, would transverse the Sakonnet River and make landfall in Island Park, continue underground across Portsmouth and exit into Mount Hope Bay, ultimately making landfall at Brayton Point in Somerset.

The forum is open to all Portsmouth residents, business owners, stakeholders and interested members of the public. There will be a panel of experts who will provide information about the Sakonnet River’s natural resources as well as potential effects from offshore wind energy development. 

The forum is not a public hearing for Mayflower Wind, nor is it targeted to the specifics of the application, but rather intended to be a constructive conversation about offshore wind energy development. Mayflower representatives will make be making a future presentation specific to their application at a later date. 

For more information regarding the panelists’ biographies, expected outcome of the forum, and to register for the event, click here.