Editor’s note: The column below has been revised to identify Angus King as a wind power developer, and to note that Maine is an electricity exporter.

DEAR SUN SPOTS: My question concerns wind power and how it benefits me and the rest of Maine once it is installed and functioning. I realize that during construction it provides jobs and once it is operating the owners will get income and hopefully profits. The town where the units are placed may also have some financial return, but I’m asking about all the rest of us.

Will the power stay in Maine and thus reduce our costs? Will the state somehow gain revenue to help with its budget? I’m asking you to find an answer from any source, including yourself, which you feel is of the utmost integrity and will provide a clear and unbiased answer. P.S. I am not opposed to wind power, just want to understand more. — Edmund Lewis, [email protected]

ANSWER: Rooting out this much information from scratch would take more time and resources than Sun Spots has, so she turned to former Gov. Angus King for some facts.

Sun Spots realizes that King is a well-known wind power developer and advocate, but asking opponents to provide a list of the benefits seemed unlikely to succeed. Another positive for the former governor is that he is an independent, so neither Republicans nor Democrats can claim favoritism.

That said, the numbers he so kindly provided may still be disputed. But at least you will have some feel for the types of revenue the state might expect even if the exact results vary.

Another caveat: King also noted that a complication in figuring out the monetary benefits is that “each project is a separate entity which has different tax arrangements with its host community, sells its power to different customers and has different impacts on its neighbors (mostly depending upon how far the turbines are from the neighbors).”

Here are the benefits he listed:

“1. Wind projects will pay income taxes to the state just as any other business, thus adding to state revenues.

“2. Wind projects add to the local tax base. As of this fall, $946 million has been invested in wind projects in Maine which has substantially increased local valuations (and thus tax revenues) in host communities. Some projects have negotiated TIFs with their host communities while some are paying full local taxes. But assuming 80 percent of the investment is taxable and an average local mill rate of 15, this means that something on the order of a million dollars in local taxes is payable each year from current projects. Also, state law requires a “host community benefits package” of at least $4,000 per turbine per year (this is in addition to property taxes).

“3. The increase in valuation also increases tax payments to the counties which in turn benefits all the residents of the counties where projects are located (currently, Washington, Aroostook, Penobscot, Oxford, Franklin and Waldo).

“4. Of the total of $946 million, over $375 million has gone directly into the Maine economy (the remainder went to buy the turbines themselves, which, alas, are made elsewhere). Over 300 Maine companies spread across the state shared in that $375 million — ranging from motels where workers stay to engineering firms to excavation contractors to road builders. Wind power is by far the largest capital investment in Maine in 15 years and there is nothing else on the drawing board remotely close in terms of value of investment.

“5. In New England, the majority of our power comes from natural gas and therefore when the wind is blowing natural gas generation is reduced. A conservative estimate is that the reduction in CO2 to the atmosphere because of Maine’s wind projects is the equivalent of taking 200,000 cars off the road; everyone in Maine benefits from cleaner air which is why groups such as the American Lung Association have endorsed wind power development.

“6. Wind diversifies our energy mix and in the long run will help to stabilize or lower rates because — like hydropower — it has a zero fuel cost and isn’t subject to the price swings of fossil fuels like oil and natural gas.

“7. Wind power development has created an opportunity for the expertise gained by Maine companies to be exported. For example, companies like Reed & Reed, Cianbro and Stantec are now competing and building projects across New England, and the country.”

As for the latter part of Edmund’s question on whether the electricity will be used locally, Maine has traditionally been an exporter of electricity. All the power generated here becomes part of the New England grid, and power is navigated to the points of highest demand. That may be in Maine, or elsewhere else on the grid.

This column is for you, our readers. It is for your questions and comments. There are only two rules: You must write to the column and sign your name (we won’t use it if you ask us not to). Please include your phone number. Letters will not be returned or answered by mail, and telephone calls will not be accepted. Your letters will appear as quickly as space allows. Address them to Sun Spots, P.O. Box 4400, Lewiston, ME 04243-4400. Inquiries can also be e-mailed to [email protected].