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 do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch. They are the products of and owned by the organizations or individuals noted and are shared here according to “fair use” and “fair dealing” provisions of copyright law.
Conservation groups call for federal review of offshore wind impact on Gulf of Maine ecosystems
A wide coalition of New England conservation groups is calling on federal regulators for a rigorous review of the potential effects of offshore wind-farms on Gulf of Maine ecosystems and fisheries. And they want that effort made before specific wind sites are proposed – which the feds did not do when planning wind-lease areas in southern New England. Some 18 groups from Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine signed on to the effort, ranging from the New England Aquarium to the . . . Complete story »
Environmentalists don’t want Sears Island to become a wind industry hub
Midcoast environmental groups want to keep the pressure on the state as they advocate against building a floating offshore wind assembly, manufacturing and launching facility on Sears Island. Stephen Miller, the executive director of the Islesboro Islands Trust, announced Wednesday morning that his organization has hired a Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm to analyze Searsport offshore wind facility options on Sears Island and on Mack Point on the mainland. Meanwhile, to bring more attention to the issue, the Friends of Sears . . . Complete story »
Boothbay planning board eyes workshops for possible solar, wind power ordinances
The Boothbay Planning Board agreed to schedule workshops to review land use ordinances on renewable energy structures. Board members made their decision following a Feb. 16 request by local fisherman Eben Wilson and business owner Alison Evans who voiced concerns the town had no control over the New England Aqua Ventus project in East Boothbay. NEAV is s a partnership between Maine Prime Technologies – a business arm of the University of Maine – and two wind industry companies. Diamond . . . Complete story »
Conservation group stunned by proposal for wind facility on Sears Island
The local nonprofit managing conserved land on Sears Island said it was blindsided by a proposal commissioned by the Mills administration to use part of the island as a hub to assemble massive floating wind turbines. The group wants the state to pursue an alternate location. “It just felt like we should have known that Sears Island was one of the two places that they were focusing on. We didn’t have a clue,” said Susan White, president of Friends of . . . Complete story »
Sides are drawn in North Woods debate
Piscataquis, Somerset and Aroostook counties are in danger of becoming the new Clean Energy Connect for solar and wind development. Irrespective of the developments themselves just how many miles of transmission lines, clear cuts, wildlife habitat will be destroyed, but more importantly the entire unique character of the North Maine Woods will be forever altered and lost for future generations. It is quite one thing to have 15 Canadian sugar sap houses and hundreds of thousands of taps, miles and . . . Complete story »
New England council calls for offshore wind mitigation fund
The New England Fishery Management Council updated its offshore wind energy policy, endorsing calls for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to establish “a compensatory mitigation fund for damages that occur to the marine environment and fish habitat,” and losses to fishing vessels as turbine arrays are built. The council’s Dec. 7 deliberation came with a new presentation from BOEM on the agency’s push to review and approve up to 16 wind energy projects off the East Coast by late . . . Complete story »
Sears Island identified as potential hub for the state’s offshore wind industry
As Maine and the nation move forward with the development of offshore wind, a recent feasibility study indicates that Sears Island in Searsport could be a good site for a marine terminal that would serve as a centralized hub for the new industry. It would be a huge investment in the state’s energy future – the feasibility study the Department of Transportation released last month suggested it could cost $284 million to build the port in two phases. But the 940-acre . . . Complete story »
PUC to give a boost to renewable projects in northern Maine
HALLOWELL – Despite criticism of the New England Clean Energy Connect project, state regulators have begun the process of collecting proposals for a high-voltage transmission line to serve as a conduit for renewable energy projects in northern Maine. A state law required the Maine Public Utilities Commission to begin planning for a transmission capacity of at least 345 kilovolts to connect northern Maine renewable energy projects to the New England power grid. The project aims to address one of the obstacles . . . Complete story »
Some Boothbay residents angered by wind power developments, including drill tests on private property
The developers of a wind-energy turbine off Monhegan Island are apologizing to Boothbay residents angered by unannounced work in town last month, some of it on private property. And the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences is taking heat from locals as well, for signing a deal to allow cable from the turbine to come ashore on its waterfront property there. The New England Aquaventus project aims to use deep waters off Monhegan to test an 11-megawatt wind turbine based on . . . Complete story »
Energy companies accused of bid rigging and racketeering in US lawsuit
A cybersecurity company filed a $110m lawsuit in New York this week, accusing the Spanish global energy company Iberdrola and its US subsidiary Avangrid of bid rigging and racketeering. The 72-page federal court complaint outlines an elaborate scheme by Iberdrola executives to generate millions of dollars in wasteful equipment expenditures in order to turn a profit from its utility customers in New York, Connecticut and Maine. The lawsuit further alleges that much of this equipment was never put to use . . . Complete story »
