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.
Maine needs zones free of windmills, power lines
GLENBURN – Since first hiking into the Maine woods in 1965 as a forester and photographer, I note huge changes in our visual landscape, a key asset for quality of life and tourism. Wind farms and power transmission contribute to the visual degradation, and more is coming. In 1983, my son and I slept overnight in the old Barren Mountain fire tower on the Appalachian Trail. At midnight I peered out the window into a starlit sky, extending in all directions . . . Complete story »
Investigators search for cause of UMPI’s turbine fire
The site is secure around the wind turbine that caught fire last Sunday night on the University of Maine Presque Isle campus. According to University President Ray Rice, safety was their number one priority. The generator in the wind turbine caught fire around 10:45 Sunday night. Rice says that produced an electrical surge which caused a good portion of the University to lose power. The Presque Isle Fire Department responded to the fire. According to Fire Chief Darrell White, with . . . Complete story »
Maine House votes no on LePage’s proposed changes to wind energy permits
State Lawmakers are giving an initial thumbs down to Governor Paul LePage’s proposal to raise the bar for new wind energy projects in Maine. The governor wants to limit streamlined permit reviews to wind projects only in eastern Aroostook County. And he wants to expand reviews of their visual impacts to anywhere within 70 miles of significant scenic resources. Representative Paul Stearns, a Guilford Republican, says he sees the scenic harm wind farms can do first hand.The porch of his . . . Complete story »
Fire shuts down UMPI wind turbine
Most of the University of Maine at Presque Isle went dark as a fire burned through the wind turbine that supplies much of the campus’s power. The University said no one was hurt in the mechanical fire that broke out around 10:45 p.m. on Sunday. The local fire and police departments, Emera Maine and UMPI facilities staff worked together to secure the area around the turbine, located more than 1,800 feet from residence halls and other campus buildings. Power was . . . Complete story »
UMPI wind turbine catches fire Easter night
Presque Isle, Maine – An investigation is underway into what caused a fire in the generator of the University of Maine Presque Isle’s wind turbine, which led to a brief campus power outage Sunday. Around 10:45 p.m. April 1, the Presque Isle Fire Department responded to a fire at UMPI’s wind turbine. The fire occurred in the turbine’s nacelle, the covered section that houses the motor, generator, gearbox and other mechanics, according to Rachel Rice, UMPI community and media relations director. . . . Complete story »
UMPI’s wind turbine damaged in late-night fire
Presque Isle, Maine – Officials at the University of Maine at Presque Isle have been busy today assessing damage done to their wind turbine. According to UMPI President Ray Rice, the generator of the wind turbine caught fire around 10:45 last night. Rice said that produced an electrical surge which caused a good portion of the University to lose power. The fire was brought under control and Rice said it lasted a relatively short amount of time. He says the . . . Complete story »
Effort to build offshore wind industry in Maine may hinge on 73 cents
A decadelong effort to establish an offshore wind energy industry in Maine is at a turning point, its future hinging on whether state utility regulators vote to reopen a power contract to test a patented technology for deep-water floating wind farms. Supporters of the University of Maine-led Maine Aqua Ventus project fear that a vote by the Public Utilities Commission to alter the power-rate terms could doom the venture, just as it reaches critical stages for financing and permits. The . . . Complete story »
Mass., utilities cut ties with Northern Pass power line project
Eversource Energy’s Northern Pass project suffered a significant and potentially fatal blow Wednesday when Massachusetts pulled the plug on a contract to use the proposed $1.6 billion transmission line to import Canadian hydropower through New Hampshire. Governor Charlie Baker’s administration, working with a selection committee representing three big electric utilities, will instead try to seal a deal with a competing transmission project that would bring the hydropower through western Maine. Eversource said it is not giving up on Northern Pass . . . Complete story »
In reversal, Massachusetts puts CMP in lead position for $950 million power line project
Massachusetts energy officials ended talks Wednesday with the developer of a proposed transmission line from Quebec through New Hampshire and said they would seek power agreements using an alternate line through Maine. Massachusetts Clean Energy issued a statement saying that the state’s electric utilities had terminated the conditional selection of the Northern Pass project and now are working to conclude negotiations with Central Maine Power Co. for its $950 million New England Clean Energy Connect line. The action comes after . . . Complete story »
Unexpected foes emerge to CMP’s plan to build transmission line to Canada
New opposition is ramping up to Central Maine Power’s proposal to build a 145-mile transmission line through western Maine, coming from interests who own fossil-fuel power plants in the state, as well as those who want to build wind and solar farms. Power-line projects predictably draw fire from environmental and recreational quarters. But these adversaries, which include major energy companies, claim that a line with the capacity to carry 1,200 megawatts of Canadian hydro power to Massachusetts may be a . . . Complete story »
