Is there scenic beauty?
Rumford Falls Times | Aug 16, 2013 | www.rumfordfallstimes.com
This is in response to “ATV ride-in at Spruce mountain” in the Aug. 7, 2013 issue of the Rumford Falls Times.
Look at the photo? Is there scenic beauty? The wind towers are taller than the mountains. Insurance makes them shut down the turbines for safety reasons during these rides – but, rest assured, the developer has lawyers.
Maine revenue rules “open to the public” gets you a 25 percent reduction on your property tax.
Power about 10,000 homes? A 20 MW capacity is reduced to under 25 percent generation. A 20 percent loss along the transmission lines reduces generation to 4 MW capacity. Another reduction in power is the sucking from the grid in times of no wind (75 percent of the time). Those red flashing lights, all night long, do not come cheap. Wind is a loss.
To the lady that said, “that way, we’ll depend less on oil and gas.” Every MW of wind power put on the ISO transmission lines is backed up by a “spinning reserve” of an idling oil or gas power generator. No reduction in fossil fuel use.
So, let me make the riders mad. It is a fluff trail.
Scenic views? Please! Look at the mountains. The towers are looming (500 feet tall). They are taller than the mountains. Imagine rows and rows and rows of turbines.
To join a group of people against wind destroying our mountain tops, join windtaskforce.org.
Alice McKay Barnett,
Carthage
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2013/08/16/is-there-scenic-beauty/