February 11, 2014
Maine, Press releases

DEP to hold second public meeting on proposed Bingham Wind project

February 10, 2014 | Environmental Protection | Jessamine Logan (207) 287-5842 jessamine.logan@maine.gov | www.maine.gov

The meeting is the second of two DEP is hosting to inform the public and invite comment on an 62-turbine wind farm being proposed in Somerset and Piscataquis County before the agency issues its final decision

Bingham – The Maine Department of Environmental Protection will host a second public meeting on Blue Sky West, LLC and Blue Sky West II, LLC’s pending application to construct a grid scale wind power generation facility on Wednesday, February 12. The primary purpose of the meeting is to gather public feedback of the Department’s draft staff analysis for the Bingham Wind Project.

The meeting will be held at Quimby School, Main Street, Bingham, Maine on Wednesday, February 12 starting at 6:00 pm. Several DEP representatives will attend, including Commissioner Patricia Aho, project manager Daniel Courtemanch and other Department staff involved with the agency’s review of the project’s Site Law and Natural Resources Protection Act permit applications.

This is the second public meeting on the project. A policy established by Commissioner Aho in 2011 requires two public meetings be held on all proposed grid scale wind power projects in Maine.

Developed to ensure adequate opportunity for public comment and a transparent, inclusive review of often controversial wind power projects, the new process also requires the presence of the DEP’s Commissioner or Deputy Commissioner at that second meeting to hear the public’s comments on DEP’s draft analysis, which for the Bingham proposal is available at http://www.maine.gov/dep/land/sitelaw/selected-developments/

DEP will take the comments voiced at the second public meeting into consideration as its review moves forward before a final decision is issued this spring.

Blue Sky West, LLC and Blue Sky West II, LLC, are proposing to develop a 62-turbine, up to 206-megawatt wind power generation facility in Bingham, Mayfield Township and Kingsbury Plantation. The project will include up to five temporary meteorological towers, up to five permanent meteorological towers, a 34.5 kV electrical collector system, an electrical substation and an Operations and Maintenance building. In addition there will be a 17 mile 115kV transmission line running from Kingsbury Plantation to a CMP substation in Parkman. The turbine towers will have a maximum height of approximately 492 feet.

For more information about the proposed project and DEP’s review of it, please contact DEP project manager Daniel Courtemanch at (207) 446-1806 or via e-mail at BinghamWindProject.dep@maine.gov or go to http://www.maine.gov/dep/land/ and click “selected site law developments” to view the draft analysis and application.


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2014/02/11/dep-to-hold-second-public-meeting-on-proposed-bingham-wind-project/