Summertime, and the living is breezy --- NOT.



Just as the air conditioners are starting to crank up in earnest, the wind turbines stop turning. They hardly produce any electricity in the windier winter. And they produce almost zero electricity when Maine turns on its air conditioners. Brilliant, simply brilliant.

UMPI's $2 million (and counting) wind turbine experiment is clearly elucidating the gross failure of wind…

CO2_Emissions_State_Pops_Areas_Forest2.xls…

The $ 2 million UMPI wind turbine was commissioned exactly one year ago. Since that time, our elected officials gave praise (see below) , a film about the turbine was made, budget cuts had to be made within the university system and the famous turbine's long expected goal of 1,000,000 KWH of electricity ended up overshooting reality by 65%. Efficiency was only 11.6% of capacity.

Commercial wind operations do not reveal their wind production data because they claim it…

Should Kurt Adams’ actions be investigated?

On May 12, 2010, we asked if you agreed an investigation is warranted in the matter of former Maine Public Utilities Commission Chairman Kurt Adams accepting equity units from First Wind, where he now works as senior vice president, while still working for the state.

78.8% of you said yes

17.3% of you said…

If you haven't yet read the following, it is highly recommended reading:

http://bjdurk.newsvine.com/_news/2010/05/08/4257649-the-cape-wind-offer-national-grid-couldnt-refuse-

If you're a politician and the late night talk show comics go after you, the end may be near.

Similarly, if you are an electricity generating source (Hint: It doesn't work), and the Simpsons go after you, it can't be good. Well, that's just what they did on TV last night and you can see it whenever you like at:

http://www.windtaskforce.org/video/the-simpsons-discover-wind…

April 23, 2010 at 6:42PM

OK, figure this one out, UMPI's wind turbine under performance is apparently exceeded only by that of the turbine's data reporting. The 554,781 KWH year to date production observable just a few hours ago is now ZERO.

Better data are kept by exercisers recording their workouts at $2 spinning classes than at this $2 MILLION spinning class.…

I know this is a free country and public broadcasting relies on corporate underwtiters these days. But that didn't make me any happier when I saw the following company listed as one of their underwiters on their website.…

From the March 2010 Fisherman's Voice. Someone just brought this article to my attention.

DEP Questions Fox Island Wind’s Noise Study

DEP Questions Fox Island Wind’s Noise Study

by Steve Cartwright

Fox Islands Wind used an unusual and possibly misleading method to calculate what area should be designated a “quiet zone” around its wind turbines, a state environmental official confirmed.

Jim Cassida, director of the Department of Environmental…

George Will has unleashed the following critique of wind in the 4/19/10 Newsweek. It's been on sale / in mailboxes for at least a week, so you may have seen it.

Excerpt:

"Meanwhile, America, which pioneered nuclear power, is squandering money on wind power, which provides 1.3 percent of the nation's electricity: it is slurping up $30 billion of tax breaks and other subsidies amounting to $18.82 per megawatt-hour, 25 times as much per megawatt-hour as the…

I just looked around the UMPI website and almost 11 months after the commissioning of the $2 million project I still am not able to see the type of basic performance data one would expect accompanying such a large investment.

You can read about the commissioning in the 5/15/09 Bangor Daily News at…

The Sun Journal is running a two part series called "The Economics of Wind". Part 1 runs today, Part 2 tomorrow.

You can find it at

Mahoosuc Land Trust Accepts Dirty Wind Money

It's a very bad thing when a wind company destroys a mountain top for money. But it is arguably more revolting when an organization whose mission is "To Protect and Conserve Land" for "Unspoiled Scenic Views", celebrates the destruction of a mountain top for money.

Please see the following article where you will read how the Mahoosuc Land Trust did just that.…

Maine Voices: An activist discovers that it takes a NIMBY to protect the village

They are the people most willing to defend their territories, families and way of life.

KAREN BESSEY PEASE

When I entered the campaign to save Maine's iconic mountains from development, I had a huge dread: the fear of being seen as a "NIMBY" (Not in my backyard).





ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Karen Bessey Pease is a…