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.
LePage gets ovation for welfare jabs
On energy, he said it’s important to find ways to help Mainers save money. He said former Gov. Angus King, an independent who is running for U.S. Senate, has made a lot of money from his wind power projects.
“Before the media coronates him, let me do it,” he said. “Angus King is the king of the wind cartel. Yes, he’s likable, but let’s not forget he has made a fortune off your backs.”
Maine residents now have greater protection against wind turbine noise
This morning at their regular meeting at the Augusta Civic Center, Maine’s Board of Environmental Protection acted on the Final Adoption of changes to Chapter 375, Section 10 pertaining to noise emissions from industrial wind turbines. The rule making proceeding was initiated in the summer of 2010 when Maine’s Citizen’s Task Forceon Wind Powerbrought a citizens’ petition to the Board of Environmental Protection (BEP). Friends of Maine’s Mountains (FMM) Attorney Rufus Brown assembled a team of experts and presented a . . .
Wind power benefits don’t add up against the costs
I am appalled that you would use your position of influence to pass on your view that the Public Utilities Commission “made the right call on wind power investment” (Our View, April 15)! In your own words, “Nothing is as simple as it looks when it comes to wind.” Initially, when I saw these wind towers springing up on our beautiful mountains and hilltops, I had mixed feelings. One would have to be completely unaware of the problems facing our . . .
Sumner wind meeting draws crowd to Fire House
SUMNER — Approximately 60 residents and visitors packed the Fire House on Wednesday night to discuss the proposed industrial wind power ordinance. The town will vote on it at 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 16, in the Fire House. Members of the Industrial Wind Ordinance Committee and town officials answered questions about the proposed ordinance. Several people expressed concern about a letter sent to many residents urging them to vote against the ordinance. The letters came from at least four out-of-state . . .
Peru wind committee seeks to extend moratorium
PERU — The status of the moratorium on industrial wind power development was the major concern of the Wind Power Committee Tuesday night. Because the original 180-day moratorium ordinance specified that it was retroactive, there were questions about whether to count the days from the retroactive date or the Nov. 8 date of the vote. If the count is from the date of the vote, the moratorium expires on Thursday, May 3. The ordinance permits selectmen to make 180-day extensions . . .
The King and Me
Despite what his campaign will try to tell you this year, Angus King is not a populist or an environmentalist. And he wasn’t a very good governor. King’s a lawyer/banker/plutocrat one-percenter who tries to mask his cold corporate values with folksy charm. The U.S. Senate is already full of phonies like King. We don’t need to elect another one. King bristles at the notion he’s an elitist. “I don’t drink wine, I don’t know what brie is, I bowl every . . .
Peru may adopt another wind farm moratorium
PERU — Wind power is a “hot potato in this town right now,” the chairman of the Board of Selectmen said at Monday night’s meeting. Tim Holland said because of confusion about the effective date of the industrial wind power development moratorium, which was passed last fall, the board missed the April deadline for extending it another six months. Selectmen approved the moratorium Oct. 3, 2011. Voters adopted it Nov. 8, 2011, with a clause stating it was retroactive to . . .
Sumner wind ordinance ready for hearing, vote
SUMNER — After nearly a year of often contentious debate, the town’s Industrial Wind Ordinance Committee members showed a spirit of conciliation and compromise in their final meeting. They unanimously accepted the version of the proposed Industrial Wind Energy Facility Ordinance arrived at in their three-hour meeting Thursday. Selectmen were in attendance and certified the ordinance as well. Next up, townspeople will weigh in during a public hearing at 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 2, at the Fire Station. A special . . .
Cianbro CEO stoked about green power
MOSCOW — Cianbro Corp. CEO Peter Vigue says he’s all about producing green power — renewable energy. The purchase of the former U.S. government radar site in Moscow with two other investors will not mean importing out-of-state waste to produce electricity or any other energy-generating practice that would harm the environment, he said. “We are very, very sensitive to the environment. I’ve assured the community and the town fathers of that as well,” Vigue said. “We’re looking at not just . . .
Another challenge blowing in the wind
There is an old expression to the effect that “bad things happen when good people do nothing.” Thankfully, when it came to First Wind’s grand plan to erect 27 43-three story wind turbines atop the mountains of Downeast Maine, a lot of good people did not stand idly by and allow it to happen. A Downeast grass roots group, the Partnership for the Preservation of the Downeast Lakes Watershed (PPDLW), along with the Maine Professional Guides Association, the Downeast Guides . . .
