Linda Miller: Wind industry is not what Maine needs going forward
Wind power won't get us off our dependence on oil
When Gov. Paul LePage was running for office, his biggest selling point to me was his concern for Maine's economy and lack of good-paying, long-lasting jobs.
Next was his ability to turn the city of Waterville around. So he received my enthusiastic vote, regardless of any criticism he had garnered when speaking to the press. I wanted a man with the knowledge and ability to get Maine back on the right track.
Maine needs good-paying, but more importantly, long-lasting jobs, not the kind that the wind industry brings to Maine.
A number of local businesses benefit when the turbines are being put in place because of the temporary influx of the industry's work force, but after a few months the crews pack up and leave behind only a skeleton crew. Wind companies don't hire local people to maintain the turbines. So, the wind industry does not provide any jobs for Maine residents. This is not what Maine needs going forward.
Maine's residents pay high electric bills. Wind energy is the most heavily subsidized form of electric power. The rate of return for wind energy is amazingly low. And yet, the wind industry continues to grow at the taxpayers' expense. Can Maine really afford this?
I am all for saving the planet. I do not know if global warming is a real threat, but I do know we need to look at viable sources of energy. Maine cannot afford to support the wind industry because we cannot afford to pay higher rates for electricity. We are running on empty already. In my view, we should be looking at sources such as Quebec's relatively cheap hydro power.
It makes sense to me. Wind power is too costly, and it will not get us off our dependence on oil.
Linda Miller
Lexington Township
http://www.kjonline.com/opinion/letters/wind-power-wont-get-us-off-...
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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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