FARMINGTON – Scot Kendall of Woodstock stood on the lawn of the Franklin County courthouse with a video camera in hand Friday. He was waiting for the next large piece of wind-turbine equipment heading to Stratton for the Kibby Wind Power project to go by.

TransCanada plans to erect 44 turbines atop Kibby and Kibby Range mountains in Kibby Township for the $320 million project over the next two years.

The transport of the first 22 turbines from Searsport to northern Franklin County started Monday.

The first round of turbines are expected to be erected on Kibby Mountain this summer to begin generating power this fall.

Kendall, a former resident of Farmington, said one piece, a nacelle that has generators inside of it to produce power, had gone by first.

“It was quite huge, but it wasn’t the blades,” Kendall said.

Each nacelle weighs 77 tons and is transported on a truck and trailer with 19 axles to spread the weight out, TransCanada spokesman Tobey Williamson said.

Kendall, though opposed to wind power and instead favoring hydro-power, said he wanted to see the equipment just the same. “I’m interested in anything new,” Kendall said.

Elizabeth Chandler of Farmington waited patiently along with a crowd of others for a blade to come by.

Each turbine requires 10 truckloads to transport, including blades that are about 150 feet long.

“I have a very personal reason to be out here,” Chandler said. “The power line runs right near my camp in Alder Stream Plantation. I am proud to say it is in my backyard. It’s been a long time coming. It’s a positive step for the environment, and I’m proud of the state of Maine for accepting this alternative energy source I think the positives far outweigh the negatives. I wanted to welcome them here today.”

She planned to plant the blue spruce seedling TransCanada was giving away at her camp.

Ethan Lake of Livermore Falls waited with family and friends to see the equipment. He has a friend who is working on the project to put up the turbines.

“I’m looking forward to seeing how big they are – the size of them,” Lake said.

At 12:25 p.m., blue lights from a state police cruiser could be seen coming toward downtown. It wasn’t long before the rig hauling a blade went by.

“Oh, my God. It’s amazing,” Evelyn Smith of Belgrade said, as her husband snapped a photo.

They had come up to see the equipment.

“To see this, it’s historic,” she said. “I hope it works out.”

Lake said it was worth the wait.

Judy Kee, of Golden, Colo., was on vacation with family. They had been on the coast and ended up following the blade down Route 2.

“On the way, we saw a lot of people along the road taking pictures with their cell phones,” Kee said.


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.