Comments - Harvard University's 100% Renewables Goal and Maine's Stetson II Wind Project - Citizens' Task Force on Wind Power - Maine2024-03-28T20:50:12Zhttps://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/comment/feed?attachedTo=4401701%3ABlogPost%3A58351&xn_auth=noBrad, was the wind actually b…tag:www.windtaskforce.org,2014-10-06:4401701:Comment:588212014-10-06T15:14:54.184ZKathy Shermanhttps://www.windtaskforce.org/profile/KathleenASherman
Brad, was the wind actually blowing/turbines not just free-wheeling in the picture of Stetson above, because the rotors appear to be facing every which way and those on the left appear too close together (wake losses/sound impacts). All of which suggests the wind resource is ill-suited and the site design poor, confirmed by your capacity figures. It also adds to the visual disharmony destroying the dramatic vista. None of this will be redressed by simply increasing rotor swept area & height…
Brad, was the wind actually blowing/turbines not just free-wheeling in the picture of Stetson above, because the rotors appear to be facing every which way and those on the left appear too close together (wake losses/sound impacts). All of which suggests the wind resource is ill-suited and the site design poor, confirmed by your capacity figures. It also adds to the visual disharmony destroying the dramatic vista. None of this will be redressed by simply increasing rotor swept area & height as proposed in Hancock.<br />
Do you know how far away the photo was taken?<br />
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I appreciate your explanation of the Harvard connections with this project. What was skimmed over in Crimson and not addressed in the excellent comments is the student movement for divesture. At the Climate March and PR from numerous colleges, including my alma mater, divesting and "green branding" of electric supply is the current gen's anti-war, anti-South Africa, etc., and a lot of the 'carbon-tax'/ "clean" economy is doubtless the "brain child" of Harvard, including the tax equity parts. Harvard invested closer to home contracting for the Renewable Energy Certificates from Hull MA's first grid-scale wind turbine and don't forget George Baker and Fox Island Wind, recipient of Rural Utility Service loan and I don't know what agency paid for the expensive cable to the mainland so that generation from the turbines could profit from federal incentives.<br />
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An aspect which the Crimson brought up in a very confused manner was the issue of wind generators being "forced" to sell their electricity at negative prices. This is false -- they could shut them down, but don't because they want the PTC. And if they did so, it would undermine their arguments about "price suppression".<br />
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My last queestion is if wind generation in Maine, or anywhere in forested or coastal northeast is so wonderful, why doesn't Harvard just invest its professors' pension funds and the endowment that allows those climate-concerned students to attend, live and learn in energy-intensive buildings and perhaps model health and economic forecasts with energy-hungry supercomputers directly rather than by securing project financing by power purchase agreements pretending that the electrons generated in Maine actually impact service in Boston or reduce carbon emissions from power plants in MA?<br />
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Still, don't blame this all on Democrats - Bush II invented the RPS when he was governor of the state with the best wind resource/available land area to benefit by policies such as PTC. The governor of MA/presential contender Romney also did nothing to deter the investment of MA ratepayer funds in planning wind energy growth in northern New England. The footprint is definitely there for FIW, but with CT ratepayers, we paid for mapping all of New England. I don't know the history of RGGI.<br />
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I do not mean to sound as cynical about student concern for the climate either, I just wish that they would take a more "global" and thoughtful perspective and think about where their consumer products and books are coming from, their cars and tires, the NSA data collection that keeps them "safe", and, on the other hand, the importance of intact ecosystems and nature-centered living. I don't know why our website…tag:www.windtaskforce.org,2014-10-06:4401701:Comment:582922014-10-06T03:16:50.447ZBrad Blakehttps://www.windtaskforce.org/profile/BradBlake
<p>I don't know why our website does not show the photo of Stetson II. If you click on the blank space, it comes up! Sorry about that!</p>
<p>I don't know why our website does not show the photo of Stetson II. If you click on the blank space, it comes up! Sorry about that!</p> Great letter Brad and thanks…tag:www.windtaskforce.org,2014-10-06:4401701:Comment:582902014-10-06T00:56:45.502ZMike DiCensohttps://www.windtaskforce.org/profile/MikeDiCenso
<p>Great letter Brad and thanks for the link. I will request that the HC do not remove your letter.</p>
<p>Great letter Brad and thanks for the link. I will request that the HC do not remove your letter.</p> The censor at the Harvard Cri…tag:www.windtaskforce.org,2014-10-04:4401701:Comment:582862014-10-04T03:45:54.203ZBrad Blakehttps://www.windtaskforce.org/profile/BradBlake
<p>The censor at the Harvard Crimson didn't like what I posted and took it down. One of our wind warriors emailed me that they couldn't find it. I scoured the comments and it was not to be found. So, being a stubborn Mainah, I re-posted it tonight, with this extra paragraph as a lead in:<br></br><br></br>"I posted this comment yesterday. It is about Harvard University and it's renewable energy goal. It is about wind power. It is about shady politics and mis-use of influence. It belongs with this…</p>
<p>The censor at the Harvard Crimson didn't like what I posted and took it down. One of our wind warriors emailed me that they couldn't find it. I scoured the comments and it was not to be found. So, being a stubborn Mainah, I re-posted it tonight, with this extra paragraph as a lead in:<br/><br/>"I posted this comment yesterday. It is about Harvard University and it's renewable energy goal. It is about wind power. It is about shady politics and mis-use of influence. It belongs with this story in the Harvard Crimson. Yesterday, it was removed. It does NOT deserve censorship! Is the censor at Harvard Crimson afraid of the truth?"</p>