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Tuesday, December 06, 2011
Confidential Memo: Wind Turbine Model Installed at Kahuku has Structural Problems
By Andrew Walden :: 363 Views :: Oahu News, Oahu Politics, Hawaii State News, Hawaii State Politics, National News, National Politics
 

by Andrew Walden

A confidential June, 2009 report by representatives of wind developer First Wind and wind turbine manufacturer Clipper Liberty raised questions about Clipper Liberty wind turbines sited in dozens of wind farms across the United States. Twelve Clipper Liberty turbines were installed in 2010 and early 2011 at the Kahuku Wind Farm at the northern tip of Oahu.

Described in an email, posted online by New York State officials, the confidential presentation to New York State regulators provided, “an overview of the root cause analysis undertaken by Clipper regarding the blade skin crack, an update of the resolution relating to gearbox timing, structural blade remediation, as well as other data regarding Clipper's Liberty turbine.”

The email underlined Clipper Liberty’s insistence that the still-secret document, “is…relating to equipment design and testing of major components of the Clipper Liberty turbine, including the turbine blades, the drivetrain, and other information which is protected by Clipper, the manufacturer.” Attorney Ruth Leistensnider warned that release of the information, “could cause injury to Clipper's competitive position.”

Clipper Liberty was founded by a former Director of Enron Wind. Clipper Liberty Vice President of Engineering is also an Enron Wind veteran.

Five months after the New York presentation, Clipper Liberty stockholders leapt at the chance to unload their shares for £1.80 ($2.81) per share offered by United Technologies.

Eleven months after the New York presentation, the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission approved a power purchase agreement between HECO and First Wind’s Kahuku Wind Power.

There is no record of any Hawaii public discussion of the Clipper Liberty blade skin crack and gearbox timing problems prior to or subsequent to the approval and construction of the Kahuku Wind Farm.

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Full Text Nixon Peabody Letter (pdf)

Dear Records Access Officer 06/03/2009 11:53AM

On June 2, 2009, representatives of First Wind Energy, LLC (Michael Alvarez, President and Chief Operating Officer) and Clipper Windpower, Inc. ("Clipper")(Robert Gates, Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations), met with Staff of the Department of Public Service. During that meeting, we provided to Department Staff a presentation labelled (sic) "Confidential", providing an overview of the root cause analysis undertaken by Clipper regarding the blade skin crack, an update of the resolution relating to gearbox timing, structural blade remediation, as well as other data regarding Clipper's Liberty turbine. A copy of this document was left with members of Department Staff present at the meeting, including Steve Blow, Edward Schrom, Richard Quimby, Andrew Davis and James Austin. An electronic version of the document is attached.

Please accept this e-mail as a confirmatory request that this document be protected from disclosure as a confidential document. The information contained in this document is highly confidential, commercially sensitive information relating to equipment design and testing of major components of the Clipper Liberty turbine, including the turbine blades, the drivetrain, and other information which is protected by Clipper, the manufacturer. This information is not publicly available, and would, if disclosed, cause Clipper substantial competitive injury. As a result, we would ask that this information be treated as a trade secret or information which, if disclosed, could cause injury to Clipper's competitive position pursuant to Public Officer's Law Sections 87.2(d) and 89(5) and 16 NYCRR Section 6-1.

Ruth E. Leistensnider, Esq.

Partner Nixon Peabody LLP
677 Broadway, 10th Floor
Albany, New York 12207
Tel: (518) 427-2655 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              (518) 427-2655      end_of_the_skype_highlighting
Fax: (866) 947-1299
Cell: (518) 461-3368 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              (518) 461-3368      end_of_the_skype_highlighting
e-mail:
RLeistensnider@nixonpeabody.com

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Clipping lots of Birds: Hawaii Windfarms killing endangered Birds: After five years Mitigation Lags

Guess Who’s Paying: Mafia-Connected FirstWind Got $117M in Federal Loans for Kahuku Windfarm

Or not: Lawsuit targets "Illegal" $117M Federal Loan Guarantee for Kahuku Windfarm

History: Hawaii Wind Developer tied to Largest-ever asset seizure by anti-Mafia police

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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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