I read with concern the Sun Journal articles, op-eds and letters on wind power.

I work for wind power constructors all across America as a project controls consultant and have been in the power industry for the past 30 years. Let me offer some observations before this paper and others rush to support jamming wind towers on the mountains in Maine.

No project I have worked on ever proposed placing a tower within two miles of a residence. Communities I have worked in are always 100 percent in favor of the projects. No one ever has an issue with a landowner giving an easement for cash, nor does anyone take issue with the constructor.

So, why can’t we find places in Maine two miles or more from residences on low-lying areas that don’t go against the wishes of local citizens and throw up 2,000 wind towers so the governor can feel green?

Answer: greed. It’s all about money.

Change the state’s ordinance to embrace those simple rules and see how much money the developers throw at projects in Maine.

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I am also aware of the cost of wind power. Adding 20 percent wind to the Maine power mix is voting to increase a monthly light bill by 25 to 40 percent when the transmission and distribution costs are added in.

Evidently, the people involved in the sweetheart deals made in Augusta with developers aren’t too worried about that.

Wind is the most expensive power in America. No one disputes that.

Tom Powell, Dixfield


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