Wind Power News: Maine
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They are the products of the organizations or individuals noted and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch.
Maine DEP holds first public hearing for Bowers Mountain wind project
LEE, Maine — Opponents and proponents have begun two days of public hearings before the state’s top environmental agency arguing the merits and problems with an industrial wind site proposed for Bowers Mountain. Project intervenors will have two full days of testimony and cross examination followed by night sessions for more public comment on Tuesday, April 30, and Wednesday, May 1, at Lee Academy. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection is giving the public a full opportunity to contribute to . . .
Opponents of Bowers Mountain wind site complain about effect on views
LEE, Maine — A scenic impact expert testifying before the state’s top environmental agency on Tuesday said First Wind’s proposed wind project “comes as close as being unreasonably adverse” in its potential impact on Bowers Mountain as any he has seen. James F. Palmer told the Maine Department of Environmental Protection that First Wind of Massachusetts’ proposed $100 million wind site avoids an adverse impact on the lakes surrounding the mountain by the narrowest margin. “I have agonized more over . . .
Battle lines drawn over proposed Maine wind farm
PORTLAND – Professional guides and sporting camp owners are opposing a proposed $100 million wind farm that they say will forever spoil the in eastern Maine region’s wilderness character. Environmental groups say the project will cut pollution, create jobs and bring clean energy to the state. The sides will square off when the state Department of Environmental Protection holds two days of hearings this week on First Wind’s application to build a 16-turbine, 48-megawatt wind farm, known as the Bowers . . .
Turbine fire illuminates need for reporting mandate
Wind power development offers Maine an opportunity to diversify the state’s energy portfolio by adding a locally generated alternative source to fossil fuels. But the turbine fire at Kibby Mountain in January demonstrates the need to adapt regulation of Maine’s emerging wind energy industry to reflect newly available information. The Jan. 16 blaze that destroyed the gearbox and electrical components behind the blade of a Kibby Mountain turbine is the first reported case of a turbine fire at a wind . . .
Woodstock selectmen, Patriot Renewables talk changes to wind ordinance
Spruce Mountain Wind representatives last week talked with Woodstock officials about possibly altering the town’s new wind ordinance to someday allow them to replace their existing turbines with ones that would be quieter overall. The ordinance, approved narrowly at the March town meeting, restricts future wind projects by imposing a lower maximum decibel level for sound generated by the turbines and greater setback from property lines, along with other requirements. However, the rules would also apply to the existing Spruce . . .
Health, environmental groups to support Bowers Mountain project
LEE, Maine — Five Maine environmental and health groups will support the proposed Bowers Mountain industrial wind site when the state’s top environmental agency reviews the project in a two-day public hearing next week, officials said Thursday. The American Lung Association, Conservation Law Foundation, Environment Maine, Maine Audubon Society and Sierra Club Maine announced their support Thursday for the 16-turbine project. The announcement marks the first time so many such groups have supported a wind project in Maine, said Glen . . .
Kibby wind turbine burns
EUSTIS — A spokesman from TransCanada has confirmed that there was a fire in one of the turbines in the Kibby Wind Project Jan. 16. Grady Simmons, a Communication and Media Relations manager for the company, stated that the late evening fire was detected by smoke alarms in the turbine. The alarm was sent to a control center and the turbine was shut down. The next morning, a TransCanada employee came to report on the damage. There was reportedly a . . .
Wind values
As rural hills and mountain tops in Maine are rapidly developed by the wind industry, we must give thought to the impacts these projects have on Maine’s tourism industry and local property values. Below is an excerpt from a letter submitted to the Department of Environmental Protection which is available on the DEP website and was written by Rainer and Gaby Engle of Switzerland, who bought their “American dream get-away” in Lincoln a few years ago. The DEP is considering . . .
$4-million turbine fire at Kibby Mountain puts wind energy under new scrutiny by state, opponents
A fire destroyed a multimillion-dollar wind turbine at the Kibby Mountain wind farm in northern Franklin County, which has generated concern about the safety and reliability of turbines, and the process by which these fires are reported to government officials and the public. Companies that operate wind farms in Maine are not currently required to report turbine fires to any state agency. TransCanada, the Calgary-based energy company that built the 44-turbine Kibby Mountain wind farm in 2010, confirmed for the . . .
DEP promises lengthy hearing for Bowers Mountain wind project
LEE, Maine — The state’s top environmental agency will set aside at least 16 hours for all participants to speak during a two-day public hearing on a 16-turbine industrial wind site proposed for Bowers Mountain, officials said Monday. Project intervenors will have two full days of testimony and cross examination followed by night sessions for more public input at Lee Academy on April 30 and May 1, Maine DEP spokeswoman Samantha Warren said. The public hearing is the first DEP . . .
