Wind farm proposals multiply
The forum begins at 6 p.m. Oct. 13 in Muskie Auditorium of Mountain Valley High School.
The local committee is particularly concerned with tentative plans by First Wind, LLC, of Newton, Mass., to site a 40-megawatt wind farm on the ridge that connects Black, South Twin and North Twin mountains. Most of the site is in Rumford, with a small portion in Roxbury.
“We want to get more information about it,” said Karl Aromaa, one of the committee's members. “We want to get both sides.”
Among the panelists are: Albert Aniel, a 30-year physician in the Rumford area; Steve Thurston, a Roxbury summer resident and Vermont resident who heads up Peoples' Task Force on Wind Power; J. Dwight, Wilton, a member of the Maine Heritage Policy Center; Tom Powell, a Dixfield businessman who has discussed a wind farm proposal in Dixfield; Steve Bennet, whose home is near a Freedom wind farm; and Lisa Linowes, a New Hampshire resident who is executive director of Industrial Wind Action Group.
Aromaa said one or more First Wind representatives are expected to appear. He is also looking for a representative from the state or other organization, such as the Natural Resources Council of Maine, to attend the forum.
He said the Rumford group began meeting a couple of months ago after watching the Roxbury process which included opposition from many of the town's residents. Independence Wind, owned by Robert Gardiner and former Gov. Angus King, received approval recently to construct 22 wind turbines on a ridge in the town.
Also being looked at are a ridge in Carthage that would accommodate 12 or 13 turbines, three in Buckfield, 10 to 13 in Woodstock, and 8 to 20 in Dixfield.
Dixfield plans to hold a special town meeting next week asking for action on a proposed moratorium on wind farms until an ordinance can be written. Buckfield selectmen are considering the same thing. Rumford selectmen turned down a request for a moratorium last month. Carthage continues to work on the ownership of part of the ridge where an expanded proposed wind farm could could be sited. Most of the land proposed for a wind farm is under private ownership.
In Woodstock, Patriot Renewables' proposal has advanced to going before the Planning Board next month for site plan review.
First Wind has dozens of wind projects in various stages of development throughout the Northeast and western states.
Another forum to explore wind energy issues in Oxford County is also planned for 7 a.m. Oct. 23 at the Four Seasons Function Center in Paris. That event is hosted by the Western Maine Economic Development Council and will include representatives from Patriot Renewables, Kean Project Engineering of Turner, the Natural Resources Council of Maine, Thurston and others.
eadams@sunjournal.com
Northern Exposure says
In regard to the MMA rejecting the resolution made by Dr. Aniel, it passed their house at an MMA meeting a few weeks after the "rejection" that is stated in your comment. Also, as far as moratoriums are concerned ,the idea here is to allow time to plan in order avoid the mess that happened in other towns.
The 2nd issue is about knowledgeable professionals giving information. How could First Wind, the interested party, be considered to be the only one to give information when there is the potential for significant bias? The citizens of the Rumford area need to have an opportunity to get more information before a large wind power project slips in to their community and gets approved. Is the goal for all citizens in our area to have an opportunity to try to get some relief on our high electric rates,or to just let the wind power companies just put up these structures with no benefit to the community where they are placed? I think we all need to think about these issues and develop dialogue to understand how major changes in our landscape forever may have the effect of potential loss or gain of property values and whether or not it may affect possible future expansion of our area as a desirable place to live. Low electric rates, if true, and appropriately located wind power projects have the potential to benefit everyone-as long as there is no harm done to the local folks that live near these structures. This is what the resolution basically states-to evaluate the potential health issues related to these structures-not to completely eliminate the potential for any wind power projects. The last issue is about the Grid and who will pay for this. We need more information about how much the taxpayers and ratepayers in Maine are going to have to pay out for an upgraded Grid. Are we going to pay for a part of this and get no rate reductions on our electric rates? Is there a decommissioning plan if the turbines become obsolete? Who will pay to take the turbines down-the town or First Wind? These are just a few of the questions that need to be addressed to understand the potential pros and cons of wind power in our area. Please think about it before accepting a delay on a moratorium.