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Officials to hold meetings on proposed wind farm

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February 11, 2012|By Alli Knothe

People concerned about the designation of a large swath of ocean south of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket as a possible site for large-scale wind farming will get a chance to sound off at public meetings slated for Monday and Tuesday.

The meetings will be hosted by officials from the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, which recently said it was launching an environmental assessment for the area.

Officials from the state Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, including the assistant secretary for federal affairs, Bill White, and the director of the Office of Coastal Zone Management, Bruce Carlisle, will also participate.

On Monday, a meeting will be held at 10 a.m. at 52 Fisherman’s Wharf in New Bedford for people interested in the possible impact on fisheries. A general meeting will be held at 5 p.m. at the Katharine Cornell Theater, 54 Spring St., in Vineyard Haven.

On Tuesday, a meeting will be held at 10 a.m. at the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs offices on the second floor of 100 Cambridge St. The meeting will focus on the possible impact on natural habitat. A general meeting will be held in the same room at 3 p.m.

Officials have said the area, which is substantially larger than the Cape Wind project, could sprout with hundreds of wind turbines that would produce enough energy to power up to 70 percent of Massachusetts homes.