CTFWP Statement and Testimony Regarding Bowers Mt. Wind Project, May 1, 2013

May 1, 2013

Good evening, my name is Brad Blake and I am a resident of Scarborough, Maine and I am the chairman of the Citizens’ Task Force on Wind Power, a state-wide coalition of local groups and individuals who believe PL 661 is bad public policy and who oppose the resultant proliferation of grid scale wind power projects in Maine. The Citizens’ Task Force on Wind Power fervently opposes the application that is before you in this hearing. Nothing has changed from two years ago.  The re-configuration of the proposed project does not change the fact that it will so adversely impact the lakes that are scenic resources of state significance that it must be denied under the provisions of PL 661.  Moreover, the destruction of Bowers Mt. from blasting, leveling, and scalping is such an unconscionable assault on the natural resources of the region that the application must be denied.

I am here to state the opposition of hundreds of CTFWP members and thousands of Mainers who reject the horrendous impact of sprawling grid scale wind power projects that are over-hyped but under-perform.  Has the applicant proven that this project is necessary under PL 661? The nearby Stetson I & II projects as well as Rollins have capacity factors of less than 25% for 2012. But First Wind will argue that using the larger turbines will produce better results. Not so, as seen by the miserable capacity factor for 2012 for Kibby and Record Hill, both of which use similar size turbines.  All of these figures are in a table attached. 

How has First Wind proven its case? Certainly not by submitting its met tower data, as they hide behind the legal concept of "proprietary information" while over-promising performance of an unpredictable, unreliable, non-dispatchable, grid-skittering electricity source. The ISO-New England has revised electricity consumption projection for the remainder of this decade to be flat.  They also have informed FERC that due to transmission congestion, the capacity payments for new wind projects as well as some existing will be halted in 2014. This says very clearly that this project is not needed, so it should be denied.

 

 

Here is the other reason why I am here tonight. Let me re-introduce myself. My full name is Bradbury Blake. If you walk a hundred yards from this building to the Lee Cemetery, you will see a headstone with that name on it.  I am named for my great-great-great grandfather, who was the 6th settler of Lee. My DNA is deep in this region. I spent many days on these Downeast lakes that will be ruined by this project. I come here tonight to defend them from greed. From First Wind greed for the taxpayer subsidies. From the greed of the so-called environmental groups that have traveled to Lee to promote the destruction of a national treasure because they have either directly, or indirectly, taken wind industry money. I deplore them. I resent them. They don’t know this region. They don’t have this region in their blood.  Rather, they are selling out our beautiful state for wind industry money and for ideology.

The mission statement of Natural Resources Council of Maine states, in part, that it is "a nonprofit membership organization protecting, restoring, and conserving Maine's environment, now and for future generations". In 2011, the NRCM position regarding Bowers Mt. wind project was "neither for nor against". What has changed? More money from the wind industry and their cohorts? Surely the facts from First Wind’s production reports to FERC should clearly tell NRCM that destroying Bowers Mt. and ruining the magnificent Downeast Grand Lakes region is not worth supporting if NRCM is true to its mission statement.

Did Maine Audubon, when it presented testimony to DEP disclose that First Wind is $10,000+ Eagle donor? That CMP and Iberdrola, another wind developer is a $5,000+ Falcon donor?  That Reed & Reed that owns the only crane that puts up these gigantic machines is also a Falcon donor? That Patriot Renewables, another wind developer and Sargent Company that did the site work at Rollins in Lincoln Lakes are Osprey level donors?  We must discredit Maine Audubon’s support as having been clearly bought. It is a shame that they care more about wind power money than they do eagles, falcons, and ospreys.

Maine Chapter of the Sierra Club is simply being hypocritical in the conflicts inherent in their mission statement, which includes verbiage such as: "protect the wild places of the Earth" and "protect Maine’s wilderness heritage". "For over a century the Sierra Club has been devoted to the conservation of our forests, mountains, rivers, coasts and other natural areas." 

By supporting blasting away Bowers Mt. and placing 459 ft tall turbines above lakes that are clearly scenic resources of state or national significance, I don’t believe Sierra Club leaders have ever left their Portland offices and experienced the vast national treasure that are the Downeast Grand Lakes.  The Maine Chapter unabashedly follows the national lead and National Sierra Club has been bought off by the wind industry. It’s too bad, because if Sierra Club founder John Muir were at this hearing, he would vehemently oppose this project.  What he wrote in 1912 regarding Hetch Hetchy can be adapted to the destruction of Bowers Mt. and the Downeast Grand Lakes: "These temple-destroyers, devotees of ravaging commercialism, seem to have a perfect contempt for Nature, and instead of lifting their eyes to the God of the mountains, lift them to the Almighty Dollar."

Just how special is this region of Downeast Grand Lakes? Why do I refer to it not just as a scenic resource of state significance, the language of the Expedited Wind Permitting statute, but as a national treasure?  Because other states and even other national governments would be creating a park or preserve of this resource, not subjecting it to degradation from sprawling industrial wind blight.  Take for example Kejimkujik National Park in Nova Scotia, the same glacially-created land as Maine. Kejimkujik is 404 square kilometers in size. Downeast Grand Lakes is more than 2000 square kilometers. The park is centered around a single large lake, dwarfed in comparison by the interconnected lake watershed in Downeast Maine. Kejimjujik is located in flat country and it was a key route for the Micmac Indians to get from the Bay of Fundy to the Atlantic Ocean. By contrast, rolling ridges surround the Downeast grand lakes that was historically an important watershed for the region’s Passamaquoddy natives. 

Kejimkujik was desgnated as a Dark sky Preserve in 2010 by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada as part of their Dark Sky Preserve Program (DSP). As a DSP, Kejimkujik is committed to protecting the nighttime environment from the effects of artificial lighting. Educating visitors about the ecological and cultural importace of dark skies are key elements of the DSP. One of the outstanding features of the Downeast Grand Lakes is the incredible night sky. There are so few of these places remaining in the northeastern USA, yet the flashing aviation lights of the Bowers Project will sully this experience.

In Nova Scotia, the Canadian government created a National Park from a resource that pales in comparison to Maine’s Downeast Grand Lakes. I know, as I have been to Kejimkujik National Park twice. Rather than destroying the resource, as approval of the Bowers Wind project would do, we should continue to protect the on-going conservation efforts.  This region has experienced the success of a dedicated Land Trust working with landowners large and small to protect the natural resources of the area, preserving miles of shoreline from development while striking the balance with sustainable forestry.  These efforts are in recognition of the unique national treasure that is the Downeast Grand Lakes. 

Approval of the Bowers Mt. wind project is the antithesis of that conservation effort.  It will set a dangerous precedent whereby First Wind or any other developers will take ridge after ridge, blasting them, disfiguring them permanently, to put up huge, ugly, noisy machines that have no place in this pristine region.  When the Downeast Grand lakes become encircled with industrial wind blight, who will ever want to travel here and spend money with Maine Guides and with sporting camps? Where does this cumulative impact on a region end? In my observation Stetson I & II and Rollins are already too much impact on the region. Will we see turbines from on every ridge from every lake? Will wind turbines be placed right up to the ridges at the boundary of Baxter State Park?  It is time for DEP to recognize that destroyed ridges and 45 story tall machines with flashing aviation lights are an assault on the natural and scenic resources of our beautiful state and emphatically say "NO!" to the Bowers Wind project.

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Comment by Gary Campbell on May 5, 2013 at 2:59pm

Brad, you made a very eloquent, cogent and effective argument.  Maine is lucky to have you tirelessly watching out for her long term interests. Thank you for all your help in "The Battle for Bowers Mountain".

Gary Campbell

Comment by Martha thacker on May 3, 2013 at 2:20pm

Great statement Brad. Thank you . 

"If we do not comply with applicable laws, regulations or permit requirements, we may be required to pay penalties or fines or curtail or cease operations of the affected projects. Violations of environmental and other laws, regulations and permit requirements, including certain violations of laws protecting migratory birds and endangered species, may also result in criminal sanctions or injunctions.

Read more: http://www.getfilings.com/sec-filings/091222/First-Wind-Holdings-In...

Looks like First Wind is factoring in costs of doing business in Maine..i.e. breaking the law. No wonder Audabon got a donation and subsequent endorsement.

Comment by Ginny Ward on May 3, 2013 at 6:36am

Excellent presentation, Brad. You have represented well the sentiments of the people of Maine who are directly and indirectly affected by this travesty in our woods, on ridges and mountain tops of our pristine areas. To many of us, like you, it's part of our heritage. To others who only visit,  the very reason they are attracted to our precious and peaceful places, is the absence of industry and the serenity it provides. Thank you, from all of us!

 

Maine as Third World Country:

CMP Transmission Rate Skyrockets 19.6% Due to Wind Power

 

Click here to read how the Maine ratepayer has been sold down the river by the Angus King cabal.

Maine Center For Public Interest Reporting – Three Part Series: A CRITICAL LOOK AT MAINE’S WIND ACT

******** IF LINKS BELOW DON'T WORK, GOOGLE THEM*********

(excerpts) From Part 1 – On Maine’s Wind Law “Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine if the law’s goals were met." . – Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, August 2010 https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/From Part 2 – On Wind and Oil Yet using wind energy doesn’t lower dependence on imported foreign oil. That’s because the majority of imported oil in Maine is used for heating and transportation. And switching our dependence from foreign oil to Maine-produced electricity isn’t likely to happen very soon, says Bartlett. “Right now, people can’t switch to electric cars and heating – if they did, we’d be in trouble.” So was one of the fundamental premises of the task force false, or at least misleading?" https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-swept-task-force-set-the-rules/From Part 3 – On Wind-Required New Transmission Lines Finally, the building of enormous, high-voltage transmission lines that the regional electricity system operator says are required to move substantial amounts of wind power to markets south of Maine was never even discussed by the task force – an omission that Mills said will come to haunt the state.“If you try to put 2,500 or 3,000 megawatts in northern or eastern Maine – oh, my god, try to build the transmission!” said Mills. “It’s not just the towers, it’s the lines – that’s when I begin to think that the goal is a little farfetched.” https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/flaws-in-bill-like-skating-with-dull-skates/

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Hannah Pingree on the Maine expedited wind law

Hannah Pingree - Director of Maine's Office of Innovation and the Future

"Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine."

https://pinetreewatch.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/

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