Kean pulls wind power application

BUCKFIELD - Kean Project Engineering President Kirk Nadeau pulled his application for three wind turbines on Streaked Mountain, after Planning Board members and residents expressed doubts about the project. The application was due to be signed by Code Enforcement Officer Glen Holmes on Tuesday.
Planning Board members and residents alike were distressed to learn that with the permit signed, they could not stop the installation because there is no ordinance.
"This does not make the least bit of business sense but I am going to withdraw my application for the three turbines until the town can decide what they really want, Nadeau said. "It's not worth the direction this is taking. I don't intend to split the town."
Nadeau has signed a lease on private property on Streaked Mountain and received a permit to erect a meteorological tower on the site. The tower will be finished in about a year and will determine how much wind power can be generated with the three turbines.
After making a PowerPoint presentation at Monday's board meeting, questions arose from planners and others.
Board member Perley Lovejoy said he had been for the project at first, but has changed his mind.
"My daughter who lives a half mile away raises horses and that worries me." He said he liked Nadeau and thought he was treating the town right, but getting a permit for the three turbines so quickly didn't seem right.
Planning Board member Warren Wright said, "The turbines are not scenic and one thing the Comprehensive Plan calls for, which the town and state approved, was to preserve the beauty of Buckfield such as Streaked Mountain."
Holmes reminded the group that the Comprehensive Plan is just a plan and does not have any authority.
"I get the feeling that we are only getting part of the picture," board member Anthony Buckley said. "I don't see enough evidence to generate reliable statistics on the many factors which seem unpredictable."
Resident James Parker referenced a letter from a man who lives near the Freedom turbines which said his life had been made miserable due to the low-frequency emissions sounds from the turbines. Parker wanted to know why another mountain in Buckfield couldn't be chosen. Parker's property line is 1,200 feet from the proposed site on Streaked Mountain.
"What is the logic to all this?" asked Kennard Hicks. "Is there an overall plan for windmills in Maine? Is it good for all of us? Maine doesn't allow
billboards, yet windmills messing up the scenery is OK?"
Board Chairman James Burke suggested the board quickly organize a plan to work on a wind turbine ordinance, and they agreed.