First Wind Greedily CASHING OUT in Maine

First Wind's schtick was money, not progress

http://www.friendsofmainesmountains.org/fmm/2014/11/22/cashing-out-...

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Sale of First Wind may affect company’s Bingham project

The Maine DEP, which had already approved the turbine farm, will take another look now that it has been notified of the SunEdison purchase.

Two slightly different versions of this story:

Posted 4:00 AM 11/21/14

http://www.pressherald.com/2014/11/21/sale-of-first-wind-wont-affec...

and

Posted 6:02 PM 11/20/14

https://www.centralmaine.com/2014/11/20/sale-of-first-wind-may-affe...

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"Vampire Squid Wrapped Around the Face of Humanity" Goldman Sachs advised First Wind on Sale

The involved financial entities read like a Who’s Who for renewable energy finance. Morgan Stanley acted as lead financial advisor and provided a fairness opinion to SunEdison. Barclays acted as co-advisor to SunEdison and lead structuring agent on the financing. BofA Merrill Lynch acted as lead financial advisor to TerraForm in connection with the First Wind acquisition and lead structuring agent on the drop down warehouse credit facility. Citi acted as co-advisor to TerraForm. Lazard provided a fairness opinion to the Corporate Governance Committee of the TerraForm Board of Directors. Goldman Sachs acted as exclusive financial advisor to First Wind. And Marathon Capital acted as advisor to First Wind’s Board of Directors.

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2014/11/sunedi...

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BDN: Bowers, Weaver, Molunkus and Somerset  cited as in development at SunEdison investor conference

What First Wind’s sale could mean for wind development in Maine

Published Nov. 19, 2014, at 5:27 a.m.     |      Modified Nov. 19, 2014, at 8:23 a.m.

http://bangordailynews.com/2014/11/19/the-point/what-first-winds-sa...

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First Wind CEO: “In the era of renewables, we’re only in the second inning"

The First Wind name will be phased out, but the company will maintain operations in Boston after the deal closes early next year. Officials of the three companies involved said they do not plan to lay off First Wind employees as a result of the deal.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2014/11/18/boston-first-wind-ac...

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MPBN Fails to Cover Both Sides of the First Wind Story --- Why?

Where is your reporting on the other sides of this story MPBN? Would you please show some balance and now do a story speaking with wind opponents and not interview anyone from the wind industry? That would be only fair right? How about digging into the companies' backgrounds to see if there is any Enron lineage?  Wouldn't that be in the PUBLIC interest?

MPBN: First Wind Deal Expected to Open New Markets for Alternative Energy Projects

http://news.mpbn.net/post/first-wind-deal-expected-open-new-markets...

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BDN: First Wind sale means end of partnership with Emera

“This transaction is essentially an unwinding of our original transaction with First Wind as they pursue a new direction and we seek to redeploy our capital in higher value assets and opportunities in other clean energy infrastructure investments, including electricity transmission and natural gas electricity generation in the Northeast,” said Chris Huskilson, Emera’s president, in a news release Monday.

http://bangordailynews.com/2014/11/18/business/first-wind-sale-mean...

Note that although the Maine media keeps calling the buyer a Missouri based company, TerraForm Power is based in Beltsville, MD. in the Washington, D.C. metro area

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PPH: Midwest solar-energy company acquiring First Wind

The companies did not elaborate on the impact the acquisition will have in Maine.

http://www.pressherald.com/2014/11/17/missouri-based-company-buying...

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BDN: SunEdison, TerraForm to buy First Wind for $2.4 billion

First Wind has been a major player in developing wind farms in Maine, with sites active and planned across northern, western and eastern Maine. It is a frequent target for environmentalists and regulators, and counts among its top executives a former high-ranking Baldacci administration official, Kurt Adams, who now sits on the University of Maine board of trustees.

http://bangordailynews.com/2014/11/17/business/sunedison-terraform-...

Emera Sells Its Interest in Northeast Wind to First Wind; First Wind to be Sold to a Third Party

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 17, 2014-- Emera (TSX: EMA) Emera Inc. announced today it will sell its 49% interest in Northeast Wind Partners II, LLC (“Northeast Wind”), to its 51% partner,First Wind Holdings, LLC (First Wind) for USD $223.3 million. 

http://www.emera.com/en/home/mediacentre/mostrecentpressreleases/ne...

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Comment by Martha thacker on November 22, 2014 at 10:08am

"Stakeholders - those impacted and consumers (especially residential and small businesses including tourism) need a voice and seat at the table that is very sorely lacking."

I have wondered if this wasn't the real reason for the delay in building the transmission lines + NH and Conn. refused to build them in their states. The target for the so called energy was Boston..I guess because so many people live there.

Also , once the wind farm corporations start condemning land for their transmission lines, and the enormous turbines are in more populated areas , it is game over. There is a reason the wind farms are located in sparsely populated, poor areas. + the media in ME will only give big wind's point of view.

The people in Cohocton  NY , found out their wind farm wasn't even on the grid . First Wind said that NY and ME would have room on their grids by 2011...after Cohocton found out on their own..FW n their sec report stated and advantage not to have access..Cohocton Wind Watch used to post the SEC reports on their website...In reality, it was never possible and their plan was to build under water cabe from Wiccasset to Boston. MPUC balked and said Mainers would not be willing to pay that much money for New England's benefit.

Since the secret is so closely guarded, it might be a good game plan for us to use pictures of the way beautiful scenic towns and land would be transformed if the transmission lines are in place. Because energy is just not an interesting topic unless people see how it impacts their lives.

Comment by Kathy Sherman on November 22, 2014 at 8:56am
Martha, Many or most of the transmission projects have been proposed (and instituted) under the guise of 'reliability'. They are aesthetically displeasing, cause anguish for those living near or under them (especially in cases where the utility has held the easement forever and progressively upping the voltage), the utilities don't want to manage vegetation in an environmentally sound manner, and I can't forget that the pro-windies always argue that transmission lines kill far more birds than their turbines do (ignoring how much new transmission is needed to get their electrons to load). I wonder if their argument even still holds as turbines have increased in size and moved off of ag land into mountainous and forested northeast. But it is not all about wind factories in Maine or NH, its about big hydro and importing from Canada (where I expect Emera's main interest lies), as well. Stakeholders - those impacted and consumers (especially residential and small businesses including tourism) need a voice and seat at the table that is very sorely lacking.
Comment by Martha thacker on November 22, 2014 at 5:46am

"there has been a large one heading south from Brewer area through Pittsfield, near Augusta which has been going on for about 3 years now. Not sure how far south it has been completed. It can be seen in several locations traveling I-95."

Sorry to read this. All that I know is the transmission lines for wind farms are much larger than what we are used to. Very hazardous to health. The route that would be necessary would lead from Orrington to Mass. At one time, NH was not interested in building them or Conn. So, if it is true that they have started on the transmission lines..it is costly in more ways than money. ..tourism and health. ..eminent domain also gives the power companies the right to confiscate land ...for what appears to be nothing. And if all this has to be given the green light by the MPUC, they have some questions to answer.

Comment by Long Islander on November 21, 2014 at 9:14pm

Companies want to build multimillion-dollar power lines through Maine

http://www.pressherald.com/2014/03/25/companies_wants_to_build_mult...

Comment by Long Islander on November 21, 2014 at 9:01pm

Here's perhaps one way we can tell that there's a big push underway for transmission from the rent seeking elites:

Electric Power Rights of Way: 
A New Frontier for Conservation

Often mowed and doused with herbicides, power transmission lines have long been a bane for environmentalists. But that’s changing, as some utilities are starting to manage these areas as potentially valuable corridors for threatened wildlife.

by richard conniff

http://e360.yale.edu/feature/electric_power_rights_of_way_a_new_fro...

Comment by Eric A. Tuttle on November 21, 2014 at 8:17pm

Agreed. If a corporation can not stand on its own merits, it should fail. We should not be subsidizing corporate welfare in Maine when we have enough to do to eeek out a living. 

Comment by Kathy Sherman on November 21, 2014 at 8:10pm
I don't think that the Emera-First Wind divorce will impact the interest of either party in transmission projects, other than specific ones, such as that put to FERC a while back. First Wind has a transmission subsidiary, built transmission so its wind farm in Utah could sent its electrons to southern California, and advertised a job in transmission this October. The regulators of southern New England states don't seem concerned about whether the wind generation in Maine that they mandate utilities buy actually goes anywhere, or how much ratepayers will pay for new transmission if it is needed. I think Emera will stiill be quite interested in transmission too, but to move generation with substantial capacity, availlable on demand. There are four transmission projects before Maine PUC, including First Wind. I don't know if anyone is tracking them. The transmission from Deepwater Block Island Wind to mainland RI just got approved and I think many in the New England Wind community have realized that there are more favorable opportunities out there than on northern New England hills and mountains, ratepayer costs be damned. But we MUST end a PTC that pays whether the generation goes anywhere or not, or is needed or not. And we need to get southern Californians to keep their money and have Utah pay more for their cheap electricity generated from cheap coal instead. Same goes for the northeast, we are in effect subsidizing coal-burning midwestern states and sending ourselves into further impoverishment for 'regular folks'. Keeping the PTC dead AND ending these ridiculously priced long-term contracts will put the damper on Terra and Big Bank schemes for tax shelters for the rich. If it is such a great idea, invest YOUR money in it, not tax- and ratepayers money.
Comment by Eric A. Tuttle on November 21, 2014 at 8:03pm

I am not sure which transmission line your speaking of, however there has been a large one heading south from Brewer area through Pittsfield, near Augusta which has been going on for about 3 years now. Not sure how far south it has been completed. It can be seen in several locations traveling I-95.

Comment by Martha thacker on November 21, 2014 at 7:46pm

Thanks Eric, but that isn't it. I did find one thing interesting in this article.  "“It’s a vast and complex undertaking, but four years into construction, the project is on time and on budget.”

So has the transmission line building started?
 

Comment by Eric A. Tuttle on November 21, 2014 at 7:35pm

 

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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