Norman Kalloch: The coming chronicle of industrial wind in Maine

 

 

Highland Wind a challege to 'environmental' groups (Portland Press-Herald)

I suspect that in the future some ambitious person will write a history of industrial wind power in Maine and in that book will be a chapter on the Highland Wind project in Highland Plantation.

The cast of characters, the plot and the long winding road to resolution will make for an interesting read.

Angus King, past Maine governor, and Robert Gardiner, former director of the state's Bureau of Public Lands -- now turned wind developers -- versus the critters on the mountaintops that block their access to tens of millions of dollars from the U.S. Treasury for their project.

Then there is the owner of the land for the proposed project -- Yale University -- that works in the background behind a front organization known as Bayroot, LLC. Until recently Yale was only known as the "Client" and was represented by their land manager. Its School of Forestry and Environmental Studies offers such courses as Environmental Ethics and Wildlife Ecology.

Although not in the thick of battle, but still having influence on wind development, are the Natural Resources Council of Maine, the same conservation organization that is against sprawl in the valleys but for it on mountaintops, and Maine Audubon, whose best defense of mountaintop wind is that house cats kill more birds than wind turbines.

The final outcome of the project could be written today if Mr. King would admit that based upon science the Highland Mountains are not appropriate for wind development.

Will NRCM and Audubon take a stand against this project and perhaps nudge Mr. King to call it a day or will NRCM continue their "damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead" wind development philosophy and say the demise of wildlife habitat, migratory birds and raptors is the price that must be paid for saving the Earth from climate change?

Likewise, will Yale University stand up for its professed concern for the environment and pull the plug?

Norman Kalloch

Carrying Place Town Twp.

 

http://www.pressherald.com/opinion/speed-vs_-mileage-take-your-pick...

 

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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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