October 2012 Blog Posts (28)

This is great news out of England, as a re-shuffling of the Energy Ministry has placed the leadership in the hands of a leader who acknowledges that wind is not a good deal, that subsidies should be curtailed, and people do not want the beautiful and historic countryside destroyed.  This should be helpful in the coming battle over ending the USA's Production Tax Credit.  Maine and the rest of "New" England should learn from "Old" England and end this folly.…

After a few hours of non-operation, the UMPI turbine is producing power again! In a 14.3 mph wind it is producing 307 kW, a bit more than half of its installed capacity. The next couple of days should be good for wind power, if it keeps working; a hurricane will be passing by.  In the past 32 hours it  generated about 6500 kWh; this is about 203 kwh per hour, or a .33 Capacity Factor. I will try to remember to report the post-hurricane capacity factor in a couple of…

Not surprisingly, the UMPI turbine site indicates nothing but zeroes this morning, October  30th.  I presume this is superstorm Sandy's doing; high wind events have frequently preceeded this turbine's breakdowns.

Harry Roper   Houlton/Danforth

Partial Transcript of a Meeting in Highland Plantation in August, 2010 with Rob Gardiner and Angus King of Independence Wind (Highland Wind LLC)

JJo Dunphy, Town Manager:

“We’re not going to allow any of the non-residents to speak, because… this is an assessor’s meeting and we have that prerogative.  We can’t have that happen.  If any of these extra folks that are here want to ask questions, they can talk with you…

Audit: Green jobs stimulus program wastes cash

A $2 Billion electric line from Canada to Massachusetts by Emera and Bangor Hydro.  With the $1.4 Billion grid upgrades costing us 12.5% and 19% already, I guess this will be another increase for us.  Why can't they just leave us alone?…

After 17 days if non-operation the UMPI turbine site reports it is working again!  At 5;30 PM in an 11 mph wind it is generating 43.9 kW.  During the 17 no-operating days it consumed 41 kWh of grid power, an average of 3 kWh per day. 

Harry Roper  - Houlton/Danforth

It looks like Danish wind turbine company, Vestas, is cutting back operations here in the USA.  Read below.

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/10/13/Danish-Wind-Turbine-Company-That-Received-Over-50-Million-In-Stimulus-Lays-Off-800-Workers

Governor LePage talks about lowering the cost of energy in Maine in this short video.

http://www.maine.gov/governor/lepage/

I sent this to the BDN for publishing as an OpEd.  Will see if it gets printed.

A Reply to Charles Colgan and his “Cheap, Dirty Coal” Article

What really scares me is having an economist like Charles Colgan teach our young people economic theory.  He is completely antithetical to solid economic reasoning, something that most of the liberal economists continue to try and push down our throats.  He believes that imposing onerous taxes and fees on certain…

Help PPDLW defeat First Wind's Bowers project a second time.

We hope to present DEP Commissioner Aho with a pile of 1000+ signatures and comments by the end of November. 

CLICK HERE TO SIGN

(or visit…

I just got back from a trip to Southern California.  We have a real issue here in Maine with wind, but when you see the ugly mess they have made out there, I guess we should consider ourselves lucky.  Turbines in Maine are spaced every few thousand feet . . . out there the turbines are spaced just far enough apart that the blades wont hit when they spin, and they cover miles and miles and thousands of acres.  This is a fairly industrial area and is not all that beautiful to begin with, but…

Keep It Grand: Keeping you up-to-date.

KIGpressrelease.pdf

Most of you have never fully appreciated the value of forests in cleansing the  atmosphere of CO2, removing other pollutants, returning oxygen to the atmosphere and providing a full range of environmental benefits.

In an urban forest where tree cover is 22.1% there was an estimated 283,000 trees. 60% were less than 6" in diameter. These are far smaller that in a rural forest with it's large biomass.

>>> pollution removal was 40 metric tons/ year or $430…

If it's cheap and plentiful—even low in carbon-dioxide emissions—much of the continent wants no part of it.

Wall Street Journal June 6 2012 By RAEL JEAN ISAAC…

www.keepitgrand.org

Stacey Fitts, co-chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology, works for Kleinschmidt Associates, an engineering, licensing, environmental service firm offering specialized technical services to the renewable industry.



Co-Chair Fitts was quoted in the February 7, 2011 Sun-Journal as saying "Everyone…

October 8, 2012

Wind Will Be Difficult to Integrate into the Grid

By Editors

The electrical grid is a high-wire act in which supply must be matched with demand on a…

I sat up in my orchard, with cocoa cup in hand.

My husband and my youngest son were roaming nearby land.

The ‘Wees’ (those Tennessean pups) were running here and there,

And Stevie-cat took swipes at them as they passed by his chair.

The dew was heavy on the ground.  The sun peeked over hill.

The trees—their colors…

For anyone who may not be aware of the connection between the euphemistically named "Smart Meter" and wind complexes, please read the following quote:

A smart grid would allow the integration of variable energy sources like wind and solar. For example, if electricity output dropped suddenly due to a change in wind generation, the grid could dim the lights in big box stores by 20%, a change most people don't perceive, say Don Von Dollen,…