By Jami Badershall,Staff Writer

CARRABASSETT VALLEY – Envision 12 wind turbines atop Redington Range and another 18 atop Black Nubble. That’s what the seven members of the Land Use Regulation Commission and several others who visited the area of the proposed Redington Wind Farm tried to do Tuesday.

Low-hanging clouds and fog made that task difficult.

Still, LURC members were able to gather more facts and have more questions answered about the wind farm by its developer, Harley Lee of Endless Energy.

Others who there Tuesday included representatives of Maine Audubon, Appalachian Trail Conservancy, Conservation Law Foundation and TransCanada, all of which are among those granted intervenor status by LURC. That means they can cross-examine witnesses during public hearings on the project to be held Aug. 2-4 in Carrabassett Valley.

Others included investors and several people who have been involved with the Redington project – landscape architects and representatives from Endless Energy, Edison Mission Group and Maine Mountain Power. Endless Energy and Edison Mission, a subsidiary of California-based Edison International form Maine Mountain Power.

The tour started at the summit of Sugarloaf with Lee pointing out Redington and Black Nubble mountains. The mountains were chosen, he said, because of their flat, north-south running ridge lines, which would allow wind turbines to catch the prevailing winds. In an area of more “pointy mountains,” these ridge lines are unusual, said Lee, adding that topography “rules out 80 percent of the mountains around here.”

Weather cut a hike from the summit to the Appalachian Trail short for most of those on the tour, although some continued, including J.T. Horn of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, who came from Vermont to be a part of the tour.

“We’re opposing this project for three reasons,” Horn said. Those three reasons are visual impact, environmental impact and the belief that the power lines and roads will have “significant erosion problems.”

Terry DeWan and Amy Segal of Terrance DeWan and Associates of Yarmouth have been working with Lee and Endless Energy over the past 10 years to come up with ways to minimize visual impact. DeWan said that in the 34 or so miles that the Appalachian Trail comes within the area of the proposed wind turbines, the turbines would be visible for a total of about three miles or 9 percent of the distance.

“Another way to minimize visual impact is using underground power lines,” DeWan said. “When you look at (the wind farm) from a distance, there won’t be poles there. The lines will be underneath the summit roadways.”

The lines will then be run along single poles down the mountain and then run for one-half mile underground as wires cross Route 27 near the Appalachian Trail parking lot until the line reaches the Bigelow substation.

The next step for the Redington Wind Farm is a public hearing on the zoning petition submitted by Maine Mountain Power. That hearing will take place Aug. 2 to 4 at the Sugarloaf Grand Summit Conference Center. Summaries of testimony and cross-examination will take place during the daytime hours. The public can attend the hearing and give oral testimony from 6 to 10 p.m. Aug. 2 and 3.

The hearing record will remain open until Monday, Aug. 14, to allow people to file written statements with the commission. Rebuttals will be accepted for another seven days. The commission will attempt to make its decision in 60 to 90 days.