August 11, 2010
Maine

Camden Energy Committee to turn Ragged Mountain wind discussion over to Select Board

By Staff, Herald Gazette, knox.villagesoup.com 10 August 2010

The Camden Energy Committee has scheduled a special meeting to discuss recommendations to the Select Board in regard to a possible wind project on Ragged Mountain.

“We have now gone as far as we believe we can,” a proposed letter to the Select Board says. Committee members will meet Thursday, Aug. 12 to decide whether to send that letter to the board.

“There are several important next steps to consider if the town wishes to pursue wind development on Ragged Mountain,” the letter continues. “There are also initiatives other than wind development that the Energy Committee has been tasked to explore and it is time to turn our focus onto something other than wind.”

“We believe it is time for the Select Board to make a decision on whether to continue with further wind power exploration on Ragged Mountain and, if so, to appoint a committee solely focused on wind power,” the letter says.

The letter contains a recommendation from the committee that the Select Board form a nine-member Ragged Mountain Wind Task Force that would include representatives from the abutting towns of Rockport and Hope. That committee would comprise four members from Camden, three members from Rockport and two members from Hope.

The new committee would be charged with the following tasks.

* Conduct and fund, through grants or fundraising, further feasibility research to address logistical, technical, economic, and environmental issues, as well as the scope and type of a potential project.
* Conduct community outreach to assess the level of interest and tolerance for a Ragged Mountain wind project.
* Coordinate wind ordinance development within the three towns.

The Camden Energy Committee will meet Thursday, Aug. 12 at 8 a.m. in the Washington Street Conference Room.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2010/08/11/camden-energy-committee-to-turn-ragged-mountain-wind-discussion-over-to-select-board/