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.
CMP’s proposed transmission line: an ‘ugly brown monster’ or a clean energy boost?
The state Public Utilities Commission held its third and final public witness hearing Wednesday night on Central Maine Power’s proposed 145-mile transmission line through western Maine. Opponents outnumbered supporters and the two camps held widely divergent views on whether the project would hurt or help Maine’s economy and environment. CMP wants to build the $950 million project to bring hydro-electricity from Canada down through western Maine to Lewiston. There it will join the regional grid to serve customers in Massachusetts, . . . Complete story »
LePage’s secretive wind energy panel, thought to be near death, meets for the first time
AUGUSTA – Gov. Paul LePage’s secretive wind power commission is not quite dead after all. The controversial commission held its first meeting Thursday, more than eight months after LePage created the group via executive order and roughly three months before his term in office ends. The Maine Wind Energy Advisory Commission is charged with examining the potential economic impact of commercial wind power development on tourism in western and coastal Maine as well as recommending changes to the state’s existing permitting . . . Complete story »
Revived Weaver Wind project back on the radar
EASTBROOK – Representatives from Longroad Energy Partners made the rounds in Eastbrook and Osborn this week to discuss a proposal for a $140 million wind project involving four Hancock County towns. The plans are a revival of a 2015 project, Weaver Wind, which the company pulled after the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIFW) raised concerns regarding a lack of data surrounding potential fatalities of migratory birds. “We have spent years collecting information about what’s going on using radar . . . Complete story »
New England senators urge FERC to end press ban
Six New England senators urged FERC Tuesday to end the New England Power Pool’s ban on public and press attendance at stakeholder meetings. U.S. Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) joined Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) in a letter urging FERC to reject NEPOOL’s proposal to codify its longstanding closed door policy (ER18-2208). “Residents of New England pay some of the highest electricity rates across the country,” the senators said. . . . Complete story »
LePage’s secretive wind energy commission appears near collapse
A vocal critic of commercial wind energy in Maine has resigned from Gov. Paul LePage’s secretive commission to study the industry, saying the group “lacks urgency, credibility and focus.” Chris O’Neil, a consultant to the anti-wind organization Friends of Maine’s Mountains, said he welcomed the creation of the Maine Wind Energy Advisory Commission as a positive step toward investigating what he contends are the industry’s harmful impacts on the state’s “quality of place.” But in a resignation letter to LePage . . . Complete story »
FMM consultant resigns from governor’s wind commission
Thanking Governor Paul LePage for the “honor” of being appointed, Chris O’Neil has withdrawn from the controversial Maine Wind Energy Advisory Commission. O’Neil is a private consultant and lobbyist who has represented Friends of Maine’s Mountains (FMM) since 2009. “While I was the governor’s appointee,” O’Neil said, “it might have appeared that my participation on the Commission was on behalf of FMM. So I consulted with the FMM board of directors before submitting my resignation, and they concurred with me.” . . . Complete story »
Another renewable energy proposal is in the wind
Last month, a Boston-based energy developer announced plans for another wind-power project for rural Hancock County. Under consideration (not for the first time) is a 17-tower, $140-million development next to the existing Hancock Wind and Bull Hill wind projects. The applicant proposes to comply with the community benefit requirement of such projects by providing funds to restore a dam on Lower Lead Mountain Pond. This provision of “tangible benefits” has become familiar. Less familiar were County Commissioner Bill Clark’s questions . . . Complete story »
Company revives wind farm plan that state wildlife officials had opposed
A Boston-based energy development firm has revived a proposal to construct what would be a third wind farm in northeastern Hancock County. Longroad Energy is renewing a proposal that First Wind and, later, SunEdison had proposed for Eastbrook and Osborn. The Weaver Wind proposal, which Longroad bought out of SunEdison’s 2016 bankruptcy, would result in 22 turbines being erected in the two towns. Longroad’s top management team is composed of former executives at First Wind, which was bought by SunEdison . . . Complete story »
Greenwood stands up to corporate America
No land closures planned “It’s great for the small town of Greenwood because it shows that corporate America cannot push little towns around as much as they think they can,” Greenwood resident Norm Milliard said. On Monday Greenwood voters overwhelmingly approved proposed amendments to the commercial wind farm section of a town ordinance, effectively banning such farms through a new tower height restriction. The vote was 206-41. Due to the large turnout the meeting started 45 minutes late. But there . . . Complete story »
State approves rezoning 700 acres in Hancock County for use as a solar farm
The site is roughly a mile away from a wind turbine that is part of Novatus Energy’s 51-megawatt Hancock Wind farm, which, according to a report by Vox, has the tallest land-based wind turbines in the country. Electricity transmission lines owned by power distribution company Emera run through the proposed solar development site. Complete story »
