In Spite of the Promises of 2008, We Are Not Ready for Massive Wind and Solar in Maine or Anywhere Else
California, which is far more advanced than we are here in the backwoods of Maine, is trying to find a way to keep their grid from crashing as they fund more and more Wind and Solar facilities. Their experts relate that it will cost BILLIONS to make the grid stable enough for renewable power and that cost will be handed over to the ratepayers. That folks is you and me. More traditional power generators don't need the massive upgrades, as their power is stable and constant. In most cases it has also been made clean. The sad part is that no matter how much we build Wind and Solar it still has to be backed up 24/7/365 by traditional power plants.
So you see, there really is no reason to try and make our grid totally renewable as there is no way to depend on it when it is needed. In California, when the wind is blowing hard and the grid is filled up, they have to PAY the wind companies NOT to produce power. Now isn't that about the most wasteful use of taxpayer and ratepayer money?
It comes down to letting the States control their own destiny in this morass or handing it over to the Federal bureaucracy to make the rules. We can all attest to the fact that whatever they put their hands on gets more expensive and in most cases does not work for the little guy out there. It works for the Baldacci's, King's, Pingree's and many of the other elites in this state, but not for us!
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-grid-renewables-20131203-story....
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Comment by Long Islander on March 29, 2016 at 6:34am
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Remember when wind pusher Governor Baldacci told us that the race was on to build Maine wind and that Maine had to be "a leader" lest transmission lines for bringing Midwest wind to the East would beat Maine to the punch? Remember he told Jennifer Rooks on MPBN that Maine wind would help keep Al Qaeda at bay? That video is still available. The con-artist actually said that. What a rigged game.
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Comment by Penny Gray on March 28, 2016 at 6:31pm
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I count myself as a tree hugger and an environmentalist and have lived off grid for almost 30 years on a tiny solar powered system, so I guess I could be considered a "Greenhead" but one who has had many years of education (by necessity) in renewable energy. I think many people have been "greenwashed" by the ideaology and symbolism, but we need evidence based, science based solutions to our energy needs. Problem is, how do we gracefully change horses in mid-stream? How do we admit we were going down the wrong path with industrial wind and industrial solar? One reasonable solution would be to make the legislators responsible for legislating and enforcing Maine's Expedited Wind Law, also liable for all the decommissioning costs.
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Comment by Gary Campbell on March 28, 2016 at 6:22pm
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A few years back the greenheads were telling us we need to follow the European model and develop wind projects as fast as we can. On a weekly basis we were told how successful Denmark, Germany and Spain were in developing their wind resources. They were being responsible. They were more 'green' than we were. Europe was far ahead of us and we had better learn from their experience and develop wind energy as fast as we can.
Today much of Europe has learned the hard way that wind is not a viable baseload electricity source. Europe has learned that wind projects destroy tourism, property values and make people sick. Much of Europe has halted wind development.
Where are those greenheads today? Why are they silent?
How do they justify no longer learning from Europe's experience?
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Here's a very interesting recap on battery storage and energy return on energy invested, and why wind and solar will never power the grid. Interesting read. http://bravenewclimate.com/2014/08/22/catch-22-of-energy-storage/
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Wind is potentially an electric grid keeper's worst nightmare because the grid keeper must match electrical supply with electrical demand, and erratic wind holds too many surrpises. For example, the whole state of Maine could be experiencing strong winds and then rather suddenly, the wind dies down.
When the supply can't be depended upon as it can with a source like natural gas, an alternate way to match up supply and demand is to control the demand. Enter the smart meter and smart grid.
"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, program manager for the IntelliGrid project at the Electric Power Research Institute".
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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