May 2015 Blog Posts (76)

This is disappointing news from the PUC.  Are wind critics' hopes being dashed by LePage appointee Carlisle McLean voting with outgoing wind power cheerleader David Littell to possibly approve the long term contract for useless wind power that threatens to destroy the Highlands near Concord and Lexington Townships?  We need lots of comments on this one! 

Excerpt:  "Maine Public Utilities Commissioners David Littell and Carlisle McLean agreed a deal was near with NextEra and…

The American Bird Conservancy says more than 30,000 of the existing 48,000 turbines are in places that government agencies or nonprofit organizations such as the National Audubon Society describe as having special significance to birds.  The article is focused mostly in the upper mid-west and around the Great Lakes, but Maine has raptors and migratory flyways that are already threatened by massive wind turbines.  A good example is the Rollins Wind site in Lincoln Lakes, where two nesting…

The work session on LD 1329, An Act to Maximize the Benefits of Renewable Energy in Maine will be held by the Energy Utilities and Technology Committee tomorrow in room 211 of the Cross Building, Augusta at 2:00 pm. If you can't attend, listen in on the Maine EUT Committee web page.

Emera Maine has a new President and COO to pursue "smart" grid technology.

http://bangordailynews.com/2015/05/15/business/emera-shakes-up-leadership-to-pursue-smart-grid-development/

It is time for this to happen in Maine too1

"LOCAL residents will be able to block all future onshore wind farms under new measures to be fast-tracked into law, the new energy secretary has announced.

Amber Rudd revealed she had “put a rocket” under her officials to “put the local community back in charge” of their own neighbourhoods.

In an interview with The Sunday Times she also said the Tory government…

Decisions by executives with the Friends of Maine's Mountains raised ethical questions that attracted unusual scrutiny by the Attorney General's Office.

LD 911 was voted out of the Environment and Natural Resources Committee with a unanimous ought to pass.  Unfortunately two important sections were removed - The 15 mile visual impact requirement and the inclusion of great ponds and sporting camps.  When I asked one of the Committee members why these were removed he told me that no one spoke up in favor of those two sections of the bill.  There are several scenic areas still named in the bill - Baxter State Park, the Allagash Wilderness…

Not to long ago LI sent us all Cianbro's new web site featuring their wind capability.  According to David Littell last night Cianbro has purchased Reed & Reed.

Last night in Kennebunk David Littell, PUC Commissioner whose last day in office is next Friday, was indeed shilling for wind.  He started with a slick video presentation on showcasing dirty belching fossil fuel wind facilities and emphasizing the need for renewable energy.  He spoke of climate change, sea levels rising,  and the melting of Antarctica.  He said nationally we must be at 20% renewable energy By 2030, and transmission is the key to making this happen. Maine must focus on…

127th MAINE LEGISLATURE

NOTICE OF CONFIRMATION HEARING

JOINT STANDING COMMITTEE ON ENERGY, UTILITIES AND…

By Mary Kay Barton -- May 7, 2015

Industrial wind is a net loser, economically, environmentally, technically and civilly. Let’s examine how......

https://www.masterresource.org/windpower/wind-loser/

and

Governor LePage Wants Energy Policy Changes

Energy policy can be an incredibly complicated endeavor. But…

Scenic Impact - LD 911 and parts of EUT's LD 1329 at ENR Worksession Today, 5/14/15 at 1:00 PM

The Joint Standing Committee on Environment and Natural Resources will be reviewing sections 8-16 of LD 1329 at its work session today on LD 911 (wind bill in ENR) with the possibility of including any of those sections as amendments to LD 911. The Joint Standing Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology will hold a work session on LD 1329 next (the schedule will be out on…

PORTLAND, Maine — Gov. Paul LePage has two persistent frustrations with energy in Maine and New England: Hydro-rich Quebec and gas-rich Pennsylvania aren’t that far away as the crow flies, but those energy sources can’t get here from there.…

The article notes how President George W. Bush was an early supporter of wind, but fails to disclose his ties to the company that helped start the whole fraud, Enron.

Posted May. 13, 2015 at 2:48 PM

KENNEBUNK - The Maine Chapter of the Sierra Club will present a short documentary entitled "Scaling Wind," along with a talk on "Renewable Energy: Benefits and Costs," by David Littell, Maine PUC Commissioner, at 7 p.m.…

Agriculture Conservation & Forestry/State and Local Government Committee Room (ACF/SLG)   …

The USFWS recommends that new wind energy development should be sited outside of an 8-km buffer zone around active leks in prairie grouse habitat (Manville 2004). Our results show that both male and female Greater Prairie-Chickens have negative behavioral responses to wind energy development within 8 km of turbines (Winder et al. 2014b, present study). Lek persistence was also affected by habitat and number of males. Further work is needed to test for lag effects and to explore how wind…