The hospitality and tourism industry has been strangely silent about the impending devastation to Maine's "Quality of Place" at the hands of the wind industry. Ms. Gray's thoughtful piece hopefully is the first cry in what will become a load roar from tourism dependent businesses throughout the state.
The Harraseekett Inn is one of the most prestigous hotels in the state, and was named one of the top 500 hotels in the world by Travel and Leisure magazine in 2010. When the Harraseekett Inn talks, the legislature should listen.
A bill calling for a moratorium on wind development has been proposed by Rep. Larry Dunfee. Putting the brakes on wind power in Maine's mountains until the impacts that were ignored by the former governor and his expedited wind law can be fully examined is the right thing to do. Please call you legislators and tell them to support the wind power moratorium bill.
How is it possible to exaggerate the negative effects of the cumulative impact of 2700 MW of wind turbines? To reach this goal will require anywhere from 1400 to 1800 monstrous, strobe lit, arm waving machines towering over 360 miles of Maine's precious wild mountain landscapes. And its not like the wind industry will stop at 2700 MW. At that point all resistance will have disappeared and mountains will continue to be assaulted until every possible ridge is occupied by turbines.
Maine as we know it is on the verge of being destroyed by the wind industry, and people who think this is the right thing to do are either in bed with the industry, care only about paltry short term benefits without a second thought to the value of Maine's majestic mountains, or are simply ignorant of the facts and believe that wind turbines will solve some make believe crisis.
While Maine is saving the planet with 2700 MW of wind power, China will build 750,000 MW of coal burning power plants, importing much of the coal from the US. That fact should hit people like a 2x4 upside the head if they would only stop and think about it for two seconds. Maine is flushing itself down the toilet with wind power.
The wind turbine invasion will undoubtedly come to be seen as the worst mistake in Maine's history unless immediate steps are taken to stop it. Saddleback is just one of dozens of projects announced for the western mountains.
Turbines are planned for Roxbury, Byron, Rumford, Dixfield, Canton, Woodstock, Temple, Sumner, Buckfield, Newry, Bethel, Reddington, Sisk Mountain, Highland Plantation, Bingham, Lexington, Moscow. The state is under seige by the wind industry, thanks to former governor Baldacci and his genuflecting legislature. The current administration and newly elected legislature are well positioned to listen to the valid arguments of wind power opponents.
Citizens must make themselves heard over the din of wind power's false prophets - the power brokers who have masterminded this fiasco - Angus King being a prime example. Likewise, NRCM has abandoned its mission to protect Maine's environment and now talks illogically and hypocritically about supporting the wind industry while safeguarding Maine's "Quality of Place". NRCM, you can't have it both ways.
This is very troubling on a number of counts. DEP rules require that evidence of financing must be demonstrated in the application. The evidence submitted, and relied upon by the DEP in granting the permit, has been shown by King and Gardiner's statements and actions to be apparently inaccurate. This is a serious matter, because by signing the DEP application the applicant swears that the information submitted is true.
Furthermore, the draft permit issued by the DEP contained a standard condition stating that evidence of financing must be demonstrated prior to the commencement of construction. When the final permit was issued 5 days later, someone had changed the word "construction" to "operation", meaning the project could be constructed without satisfying the clear requirements of the law.
This improper condition gave King and Gardiner the ability to begin construction in 2009, making them eligible for a 30% rebate on the entire cost of the project under the federal stimulus program, a no-strings attached gift to King and Gardiner from the US taxpayer that would be worth $40 million. When this conflict in the language of the permit was pointed out to DEP, no one admitted responsibility for this language change, other than an admission of a "drafting error".
There is nothing in the record to indicate who requested this change or why this change was agreed to. When the DEP was forced to admit that an improper condition was included in the permit, they asked King and Gardiner to submit evidence of financing. In response, King and Gardiner submitted a letter from a Chicago bank called Northern Trust, indicating that Bayroot, the majority partner in the Record Hill Wind project, had sufficient funds on deposit to build the project, but that the money was not committed to the project and could be withdrawn at any time.
When appellants challenged this letter, King and Gardiner agreed to shut down construction, and to provide additional evidence of financial capacity prior to resuming - which has not occurred .
With the news that King and Gardiner have now applied for a federal loan guarantee, it is clear that no committment to finance this project has ever existed. One of the conditions of the loan guarantee program is that without the guarantee the project could not be built.
By Steve Thurston, unverified — Fri, 09/03/2010 - 07:53
Not only will Maine share in the cost of CMP's $1.5 billion dollar upgrade, according to the ISO chief Maine will also share in the cost of $12 billion in upgrades throughout the ISO-NE grid to allow the constantly fluctuating output of wind turbines in Maine, Massachussetts, New Hampshire and Vermont to be fed into the grid. Transmission lines must accommodate 100% of the nameplate capacity of wind generators, even though the turbines rarely produce at 100%, and average only 25% of their potential. This "overbuilding" of transmission is a massive hidden cost of wind power that is intentionally ignored by the wind industry. Not one wind developer testified about the MPRP during the PUC proceeding. They didn't have to. The fix was already in, thanks to mandates from the Governor's Expedited Wind Law, and other legislation passed in recent years which rewards wind power at the expense of the rate payer.
CMP is guaranteed a 12% rate of return on the MPRP transmission investment by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Rates for delivery of electricity are going to soar, because demand for electricity is flat due to the slow motion economy. Meanwhile wind generators need massive subsidies to cover the cost of putting turbines built in foreign countries on top of Maine's ridges (far from the load centers that drive demand). At the moment the grid is purchasing electricity for $44 per MW in the day ahead market (google ISO LMP Map). The cost of mountain top wind generated electricity is well over $100 per MW, not counting transmission upgrades. Taxpayers make up this difference in subsidies. The enormity of the wind power scam is almost incomprehensible, but for anyone who takes a few minutes to peel the layers, this onion is rotten to the core.
Steve Thurston's Comments
A moratorium on wind power is needed
The hospitality and tourism industry has been strangely silent about the impending devastation to Maine's "Quality of Place" at the hands of the wind industry. Ms. Gray's thoughtful piece hopefully is the first cry in what will become a load roar from tourism dependent businesses throughout the state.
The Harraseekett Inn is one of the most prestigous hotels in the state, and was named one of the top 500 hotels in the world by Travel and Leisure magazine in 2010. When the Harraseekett Inn talks, the legislature should listen.
A bill calling for a moratorium on wind development has been proposed by Rep. Larry Dunfee. Putting the brakes on wind power in Maine's mountains until the impacts that were ignored by the former governor and his expedited wind law can be fully examined is the right thing to do. Please call you legislators and tell them to support the wind power moratorium bill.
You say Mr. Stowell "exaggerated the negative effects"?
How is it possible to exaggerate the negative effects of the cumulative impact of 2700 MW of wind turbines? To reach this goal will require anywhere from 1400 to 1800 monstrous, strobe lit, arm waving machines towering over 360 miles of Maine's precious wild mountain landscapes. And its not like the wind industry will stop at 2700 MW. At that point all resistance will have disappeared and mountains will continue to be assaulted until every possible ridge is occupied by turbines.
Maine as we know it is on the verge of being destroyed by the wind industry, and people who think this is the right thing to do are either in bed with the industry, care only about paltry short term benefits without a second thought to the value of Maine's majestic mountains, or are simply ignorant of the facts and believe that wind turbines will solve some make believe crisis.
While Maine is saving the planet with 2700 MW of wind power, China will build 750,000 MW of coal burning power plants, importing much of the coal from the US. That fact should hit people like a 2x4 upside the head if they would only stop and think about it for two seconds. Maine is flushing itself down the toilet with wind power.
Well said, Mr. Stowell
The wind turbine invasion will undoubtedly come to be seen as the worst mistake in Maine's history unless immediate steps are taken to stop it. Saddleback is just one of dozens of projects announced for the western mountains.
Turbines are planned for Roxbury, Byron, Rumford, Dixfield, Canton, Woodstock, Temple, Sumner, Buckfield, Newry, Bethel, Reddington, Sisk Mountain, Highland Plantation, Bingham, Lexington, Moscow. The state is under seige by the wind industry, thanks to former governor Baldacci and his genuflecting legislature. The current administration and newly elected legislature are well positioned to listen to the valid arguments of wind power opponents.
Citizens must make themselves heard over the din of wind power's false prophets - the power brokers who have masterminded this fiasco - Angus King being a prime example. Likewise, NRCM has abandoned its mission to protect Maine's environment and now talks illogically and hypocritically about supporting the wind industry while safeguarding Maine's "Quality of Place". NRCM, you can't have it both ways.
Tip of the iceberg
This is very troubling on a number of counts. DEP rules require that evidence of financing must be demonstrated in the application. The evidence submitted, and relied upon by the DEP in granting the permit, has been shown by King and Gardiner's statements and actions to be apparently inaccurate. This is a serious matter, because by signing the DEP application the applicant swears that the information submitted is true.
Furthermore, the draft permit issued by the DEP contained a standard condition stating that evidence of financing must be demonstrated prior to the commencement of construction. When the final permit was issued 5 days later, someone had changed the word "construction" to "operation", meaning the project could be constructed without satisfying the clear requirements of the law.
This improper condition gave King and Gardiner the ability to begin construction in 2009, making them eligible for a 30% rebate on the entire cost of the project under the federal stimulus program, a no-strings attached gift to King and Gardiner from the US taxpayer that would be worth $40 million. When this conflict in the language of the permit was pointed out to DEP, no one admitted responsibility for this language change, other than an admission of a "drafting error".
There is nothing in the record to indicate who requested this change or why this change was agreed to. When the DEP was forced to admit that an improper condition was included in the permit, they asked King and Gardiner to submit evidence of financing. In response, King and Gardiner submitted a letter from a Chicago bank called Northern Trust, indicating that Bayroot, the majority partner in the Record Hill Wind project, had sufficient funds on deposit to build the project, but that the money was not committed to the project and could be withdrawn at any time.
When appellants challenged this letter, King and Gardiner agreed to shut down construction, and to provide additional evidence of financial capacity prior to resuming - which has not occurred .
With the news that King and Gardiner have now applied for a federal loan guarantee, it is clear that no committment to finance this project has ever existed. One of the conditions of the loan guarantee program is that without the guarantee the project could not be built.
Maine transmission costs are just the beginning
Not only will Maine share in the cost of CMP's $1.5 billion dollar upgrade, according to the ISO chief Maine will also share in the cost of $12 billion in upgrades throughout the ISO-NE grid to allow the constantly fluctuating output of wind turbines in Maine, Massachussetts, New Hampshire and Vermont to be fed into the grid. Transmission lines must accommodate 100% of the nameplate capacity of wind generators, even though the turbines rarely produce at 100%, and average only 25% of their potential. This "overbuilding" of transmission is a massive hidden cost of wind power that is intentionally ignored by the wind industry. Not one wind developer testified about the MPRP during the PUC proceeding. They didn't have to. The fix was already in, thanks to mandates from the Governor's Expedited Wind Law, and other legislation passed in recent years which rewards wind power at the expense of the rate payer.
CMP is guaranteed a 12% rate of return on the MPRP transmission investment by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Rates for delivery of electricity are going to soar, because demand for electricity is flat due to the slow motion economy. Meanwhile wind generators need massive subsidies to cover the cost of putting turbines built in foreign countries on top of Maine's ridges (far from the load centers that drive demand). At the moment the grid is purchasing electricity for $44 per MW in the day ahead market (google ISO LMP Map). The cost of mountain top wind generated electricity is well over $100 per MW, not counting transmission upgrades. Taxpayers make up this difference in subsidies. The enormity of the wind power scam is almost incomprehensible, but for anyone who takes a few minutes to peel the layers, this onion is rotten to the core.