I want power to come from efficient, reliable, energy-dense sources. We can do a lot with an innovative, free market. Wind is a loser. Another set of statistics from USEIA: In July 2011, the USEIA published results for 2010 for subsidies per MWH (direct, tax, R & D, and electricity support). The subsidy per MWH is $52.43 for wind; the next highest is $2.78 for nuclear, then 84 cents for hydro, 64 cents for coal, and 63 cents for natural gas. Wind is such a feckless source of electricity, that it requires far greater subsidies than any other source of electricity per Megawatt Hour. Support for wind is bad economics, based on poor science, mandated by bad public policy caused by lobbyists influencing politicians pandering to be “green” rather than making sound decisions based on economics.
Jason, thank you for your respect for communities to make their own decisions.
Regarding investment, let's hope that the nation as a whole will pull out of this prolonged recession and things will pick up in Maine. Wind power investment would not happen without huge taxpayer funds, something of which I am fundamentally opposed. I say get rid of all energy subsidies, tax schemes, and mandates across the board. Stop that spending, much of it wasteful, and let the free markets decide our energy resources. The government has pursued bad public policy in its favoritism to wind, solar, ethanol, etc. Regarding wind, you might wish to read this piece I wrote just yesterday. http://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blog/show?id=4401701%3ABlogPost%3A...
Mr. Dosh, your sarcastic remarks in response to the "overwhelming" vote here is not nice and very disrespectful. These folks labored many months and educated themselves and weighed the values of their community. It would be easy for a community with a relatively small population spread across a rural area, that has little commercial base for taxes, and not a lot of wealth to take an opposite road and desperately grab the money the wind developers always dangle. Sumner showed respect for process, respect for the ridges that so define the topography of the town, and most importantly respect for one another, enacting an ordinance that protects all residents from this type of development. In the end, they decided if wind power development comes to Sumner, it comes on their terms. It is as simple as that. Well done, Sumner!
Congratulations to Sumner for taking the time to thoroughly consider the issue of wind power development in your town, going through a painstaking drafting process, and finally voting strongly in favor of protecting the interests of all residents. How sad that there are parts of Sumner near Shagg Pond that are affected by the turbines that went in on Spruce Mt. in Woodstock. Which brings me to my point. The River Valley region is under intense pressure, especially by predatory Patriot Renewables, to place gigantic wind machines on every possible ridge. The same is true for the Oxford Hills and all the foothill ridges in northern Oxford, Franklin, and Somerset counties. Sumner joins a growing number of communities that have taken the time to examine the array of issues regarding wind power development. In every case, the community decides more appropriate standards than the sadly lacking state model ordinance. The other towns need to do the same.
As soon as the PUC approved the $1.4 billion Maine Power Reliability Project, Iberdrola/CMP started to tout it as necessary for the build out of industrial wind projects. Prior to that PUC approval, they gave every reason on earth other than wind power to justify grossly overbuilding the trunk transmission line from Orrington to Elliot. To meet the local distribution needs, we might have required some upgrades that should have been done as part of a multi-year capital improvement plan. To meet the local distribution needs, it was totally unnecessary to build a new 345kv line, as the local grid operates just fine on 115kv lines. The sole reason for adding more than $1 billion to our costs is the few days a year a fickle trickle of wind power surges and the line has to have the capacity for handling this rare occurance. We have been bamboozled, Mr. Rooks! You want to pay my Iberdrola/CMP bill when I retire and the full cost of wind gets factored in?
Former Gov. Baldacci, desperate to find some legacy for a failed 8 years in office, caved to all the Yuppies he surrounded himself with to "go green" and bring in an industry that would help Maine economically. Or so he thought, not knowing he was unleashing an environmentally devastating farce. First it was his "Governor's Task Force on Wind Power", hand picked and with a closed process ensuring that, sure enough, the outcome was a glowing recommendation to destroy Maine with the folly of wind power. Included in that group were people like Peter Didisheim of the NRCM, which had already been pushing wind power over protecting the environment; Rep. Stacey Fitts, who shills for the industry in the Legislature and has steadfastly blocked any attempt through the Energy, Utilities, & Technology committee to modify the wind law; and Juliet Browne, the leading lawyer for First Wind and others, who's husband, Rep. Jon Hinck has worked with Fitts in blocking any attempt through the Energy, Utilities, & Technology committee to modify the wind law.
The Task Force work done, the task turned to creating the law, with Juliet Browne again having a hand in that endeavor. In the waning days of the Short Term of the Legislature in April 2008, with an emergency preamble that sounds like Chicken Little warning that the world will end without it, PL 661 was passed. Passed by an unknowing and unquestioning legislature, with the Democrats in lock step with whatever Baldacci wanted. Passed in 15 days, meeting the bare minimums for any public notice. Passed without any debate. What was passed is one of the most anti-environmental pieces of legislation ever, complete with the heinous section the "Expedited Wind Permitting". A law that specifically states that one industry gets favoritism over any and all environmental laws Maine has. A law that severely curtails citizens' rights. A law that specifically states that scenic impact cannot be a consideration except for a very narrow scope of scenic places of state or national significance.
So there is your answer, folks. We are seeing turbines as tall as 45 story Boston skyscrapers going up on blasted away, leveled, and scalped ridgelines all over this beautiful state, for a source of electricity that is costly, unpredictable, unreliable, and we simply do not need. The state of Maine has been scammed---big time. We need to repeal PL 661 in the next Legislature.
Alan Michka, you are far more polite than I am. Doug Rooks shamelessly shills for wind. He has always had his nose firmly planted up Angus King's arse. I guess the guy just likes to defend losers.
The response in defense of wind is as rife with inaccuracies as anything the Governor says off the cuff. The Governor is alarmed about the trend that fulfilling the arbitrary RPS standards in all those RGGI states ends up with Maine becoming a turbine plantation. That will be devastating to our multi-billion tourism industry and the vacation home real estate market.
When the PTC ends, it will slow down wind development by a lot, but as long as states stupidly cling to the bad public policy of forcing electricity utilities to have percentages of renewables, we are setting ourselves up for taking on wind at its cost, not the lower cost of the wholesale market that is now driven by natural gas.
BTW, Doug, it is not Kibby, Stetson, Spruce, and a "dozen other sites". The current sad toll on Maine's mountains are: Mars Hill, Stetson, Rollins, Kibby, Record Hill, and Spruce, with the two small (3 turbines each) sites on Vinalhaven and at Freedom. Get it right if you are going to shill for an industry that wouldn't exist without unduly high (per MWH) subsidies, selling Enron-inspired RECs, and the heinous mandates from the RPS.
BTW, as an avid hiker, today I hiked in to Record Hill to witness the travesty of Angus King's project first hand. There was no wind up there all afternoon. The project contributed not a single electron to the New England grid today. Photos will be posted to www.windtaskforce.org
The increase in noise levels to 42 dBA as measured on the A weighted decibel scale is far more than double the usual rural Maine background noise level of around 20 dBA. Whether one uses the Loudness Multiplier Theory (Stevens) that says an increase of 10 dBA is a doubling of noise, or the more recently developed Amplitude Multiplier Theory (Warren) that says an increase of 6 dBA is a doubling of noise, the fact is, allowing 42 dBA is a huge increase in allowable noise.
The people were here first. How can any community say that certain residents must have their health and well-being sacrificed to allow wind turbines to be built close to them? That Ms. Ballweber says she can hear the Spruce Mt. turbines at an annoying, sleep disruping level is not surprising at all. Very unfortunate, but not surprising.
All Oxford Hills region towns need to get serious, very quickly about maintaining local control over destructive wind power development. Patriot Rebewables has no concern for the environment, no soul for nature, and are willing to wantonly destroy the health of your neighbors. They will blast away, level, and scalp any mountain ridgelines they can get control over in order to reap tax subsidies and sell Enron-inspired RECs.
The state won't protect your community, only the communities themselves can say that no neighbors are expendable to do the bidding of the wind company, that the quality of place found in each unique yet interconnected town is worth preserving. Petition your local government to place a moratorium on wind power development, step back and allow all residents to understand the multitude of issues concerning wind power, then write a strong ordinance that has the best interests of the community in mind. There are model ordinances and much more information, from the citizens of Maine here: www.windtaskforce.org
While we might savor for a moment that LURC actually said "NO" to a proposed wind power development, the magnificent Downeast Lakes region continues to be under assault from wind developers.
First Wind vows to come back to the same site with a different plan. These thieves can't take "NO" for an answer, sort of like the spoiled brat that has to get their way all the time.
On the western edge of the Downeast Lakes region, an application for a project for 14 turbines, each 459 feet tall, is under active review for Passadumkeag Mt. This is the highest point between Cadillac Mt. and Mt. Katahdin and overlooks Saponic Lake and West Lake, both high quality lakes and Nicatous and Duck Lakes, where taxpayer funds from Maine and the Federal Government have protected these lakes from development.
Over on the Canadian border, MET towers were erected on Greenland Ridge above East Grand Lake by Cianbro in January 2012. This has been met by the swift organizing of a group intending to preserve that end of the Grand Lakes in the same way PPDLW has done with the Bowers project. Their website is: http://keepitgrand.org/
As long as there are taxpayer subsidies, the Enron-inspired REC market, and arbitrary mandates for percentages of "renewable" energy supported by pandering politicians, the ruination of our beautiful state will continue. We must fight back and stop it!
Energy dense sources
I want power to come from efficient, reliable, energy-dense sources. We can do a lot with an innovative, free market. Wind is a loser. Another set of statistics from USEIA: In July 2011, the USEIA published results for 2010 for subsidies per MWH (direct, tax, R & D, and electricity support). The subsidy per MWH is $52.43 for wind; the next highest is $2.78 for nuclear, then 84 cents for hydro, 64 cents for coal, and 63 cents for natural gas. Wind is such a feckless source of electricity, that it requires far greater subsidies than any other source of electricity per Megawatt Hour. Support for wind is bad economics, based on poor science, mandated by bad public policy caused by lobbyists influencing politicians pandering to be “green” rather than making sound decisions based on economics.
It was Sumner's decision
Jason, thank you for your respect for communities to make their own decisions.
Regarding investment, let's hope that the nation as a whole will pull out of this prolonged recession and things will pick up in Maine. Wind power investment would not happen without huge taxpayer funds, something of which I am fundamentally opposed. I say get rid of all energy subsidies, tax schemes, and mandates across the board. Stop that spending, much of it wasteful, and let the free markets decide our energy resources. The government has pursued bad public policy in its favoritism to wind, solar, ethanol, etc. Regarding wind, you might wish to read this piece I wrote just yesterday. http://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blog/show?id=4401701%3ABlogPost%3A...
Not Respectful to Sumner Residents
Mr. Dosh, your sarcastic remarks in response to the "overwhelming" vote here is not nice and very disrespectful. These folks labored many months and educated themselves and weighed the values of their community. It would be easy for a community with a relatively small population spread across a rural area, that has little commercial base for taxes, and not a lot of wealth to take an opposite road and desperately grab the money the wind developers always dangle. Sumner showed respect for process, respect for the ridges that so define the topography of the town, and most importantly respect for one another, enacting an ordinance that protects all residents from this type of development. In the end, they decided if wind power development comes to Sumner, it comes on their terms. It is as simple as that. Well done, Sumner!
Good for Sumner!
Congratulations to Sumner for taking the time to thoroughly consider the issue of wind power development in your town, going through a painstaking drafting process, and finally voting strongly in favor of protecting the interests of all residents. How sad that there are parts of Sumner near Shagg Pond that are affected by the turbines that went in on Spruce Mt. in Woodstock. Which brings me to my point. The River Valley region is under intense pressure, especially by predatory Patriot Renewables, to place gigantic wind machines on every possible ridge. The same is true for the Oxford Hills and all the foothill ridges in northern Oxford, Franklin, and Somerset counties. Sumner joins a growing number of communities that have taken the time to examine the array of issues regarding wind power development. In every case, the community decides more appropriate standards than the sadly lacking state model ordinance. The other towns need to do the same.
Mr. DeConzo is Right
As soon as the PUC approved the $1.4 billion Maine Power Reliability Project, Iberdrola/CMP started to tout it as necessary for the build out of industrial wind projects. Prior to that PUC approval, they gave every reason on earth other than wind power to justify grossly overbuilding the trunk transmission line from Orrington to Elliot. To meet the local distribution needs, we might have required some upgrades that should have been done as part of a multi-year capital improvement plan. To meet the local distribution needs, it was totally unnecessary to build a new 345kv line, as the local grid operates just fine on 115kv lines. The sole reason for adding more than $1 billion to our costs is the few days a year a fickle trickle of wind power surges and the line has to have the capacity for handling this rare occurance. We have been bamboozled, Mr. Rooks! You want to pay my Iberdrola/CMP bill when I retire and the full cost of wind gets factored in?
Baldacci is to blame
Former Gov. Baldacci, desperate to find some legacy for a failed 8 years in office, caved to all the Yuppies he surrounded himself with to "go green" and bring in an industry that would help Maine economically. Or so he thought, not knowing he was unleashing an environmentally devastating farce. First it was his "Governor's Task Force on Wind Power", hand picked and with a closed process ensuring that, sure enough, the outcome was a glowing recommendation to destroy Maine with the folly of wind power. Included in that group were people like Peter Didisheim of the NRCM, which had already been pushing wind power over protecting the environment; Rep. Stacey Fitts, who shills for the industry in the Legislature and has steadfastly blocked any attempt through the Energy, Utilities, & Technology committee to modify the wind law; and Juliet Browne, the leading lawyer for First Wind and others, who's husband, Rep. Jon Hinck has worked with Fitts in blocking any attempt through the Energy, Utilities, & Technology committee to modify the wind law.
The Task Force work done, the task turned to creating the law, with Juliet Browne again having a hand in that endeavor. In the waning days of the Short Term of the Legislature in April 2008, with an emergency preamble that sounds like Chicken Little warning that the world will end without it, PL 661 was passed. Passed by an unknowing and unquestioning legislature, with the Democrats in lock step with whatever Baldacci wanted. Passed in 15 days, meeting the bare minimums for any public notice. Passed without any debate. What was passed is one of the most anti-environmental pieces of legislation ever, complete with the heinous section the "Expedited Wind Permitting". A law that specifically states that one industry gets favoritism over any and all environmental laws Maine has. A law that severely curtails citizens' rights. A law that specifically states that scenic impact cannot be a consideration except for a very narrow scope of scenic places of state or national significance.
So there is your answer, folks. We are seeing turbines as tall as 45 story Boston skyscrapers going up on blasted away, leveled, and scalped ridgelines all over this beautiful state, for a source of electricity that is costly, unpredictable, unreliable, and we simply do not need. The state of Maine has been scammed---big time. We need to repeal PL 661 in the next Legislature.
Rooks Shills for Wind
Alan Michka, you are far more polite than I am. Doug Rooks shamelessly shills for wind. He has always had his nose firmly planted up Angus King's arse. I guess the guy just likes to defend losers.
The response in defense of wind is as rife with inaccuracies as anything the Governor says off the cuff. The Governor is alarmed about the trend that fulfilling the arbitrary RPS standards in all those RGGI states ends up with Maine becoming a turbine plantation. That will be devastating to our multi-billion tourism industry and the vacation home real estate market.
When the PTC ends, it will slow down wind development by a lot, but as long as states stupidly cling to the bad public policy of forcing electricity utilities to have percentages of renewables, we are setting ourselves up for taking on wind at its cost, not the lower cost of the wholesale market that is now driven by natural gas.
BTW, Doug, it is not Kibby, Stetson, Spruce, and a "dozen other sites". The current sad toll on Maine's mountains are: Mars Hill, Stetson, Rollins, Kibby, Record Hill, and Spruce, with the two small (3 turbines each) sites on Vinalhaven and at Freedom. Get it right if you are going to shill for an industry that wouldn't exist without unduly high (per MWH) subsidies, selling Enron-inspired RECs, and the heinous mandates from the RPS.
BTW, as an avid hiker, today I hiked in to Record Hill to witness the travesty of Angus King's project first hand. There was no wind up there all afternoon. The project contributed not a single electron to the New England grid today. Photos will be posted to www.windtaskforce.org
Even more than Alice states
The increase in noise levels to 42 dBA as measured on the A weighted decibel scale is far more than double the usual rural Maine background noise level of around 20 dBA. Whether one uses the Loudness Multiplier Theory (Stevens) that says an increase of 10 dBA is a doubling of noise, or the more recently developed Amplitude Multiplier Theory (Warren) that says an increase of 6 dBA is a doubling of noise, the fact is, allowing 42 dBA is a huge increase in allowable noise.
The people were here first. How can any community say that certain residents must have their health and well-being sacrificed to allow wind turbines to be built close to them? That Ms. Ballweber says she can hear the Spruce Mt. turbines at an annoying, sleep disruping level is not surprising at all. Very unfortunate, but not surprising.
Oxford Hills Region Towns
All Oxford Hills region towns need to get serious, very quickly about maintaining local control over destructive wind power development. Patriot Rebewables has no concern for the environment, no soul for nature, and are willing to wantonly destroy the health of your neighbors. They will blast away, level, and scalp any mountain ridgelines they can get control over in order to reap tax subsidies and sell Enron-inspired RECs.
The state won't protect your community, only the communities themselves can say that no neighbors are expendable to do the bidding of the wind company, that the quality of place found in each unique yet interconnected town is worth preserving. Petition your local government to place a moratorium on wind power development, step back and allow all residents to understand the multitude of issues concerning wind power, then write a strong ordinance that has the best interests of the community in mind. There are model ordinances and much more information, from the citizens of Maine here: www.windtaskforce.org
More threats tp the Downeast Lakes Region
While we might savor for a moment that LURC actually said "NO" to a proposed wind power development, the magnificent Downeast Lakes region continues to be under assault from wind developers.
First Wind vows to come back to the same site with a different plan. These thieves can't take "NO" for an answer, sort of like the spoiled brat that has to get their way all the time.
On the western edge of the Downeast Lakes region, an application for a project for 14 turbines, each 459 feet tall, is under active review for Passadumkeag Mt. This is the highest point between Cadillac Mt. and Mt. Katahdin and overlooks Saponic Lake and West Lake, both high quality lakes and Nicatous and Duck Lakes, where taxpayer funds from Maine and the Federal Government have protected these lakes from development.
Over on the Canadian border, MET towers were erected on Greenland Ridge above East Grand Lake by Cianbro in January 2012. This has been met by the swift organizing of a group intending to preserve that end of the Grand Lakes in the same way PPDLW has done with the Bowers project. Their website is: http://keepitgrand.org/
As long as there are taxpayer subsidies, the Enron-inspired REC market, and arbitrary mandates for percentages of "renewable" energy supported by pandering politicians, the ruination of our beautiful state will continue. We must fight back and stop it!