All Blog Posts (8,976)

Listing a species as threatened means that any trafficking, injuring or killing of that animal becomes prohibited, but unlike endangered species, some exemptions can be carved out.

In the case of the Northern Long-Eared Bat, logging and expansion of rights of way for transportation or utility construction got an exemption, as long as the activities avoided any known caves or trees occupied by the bats. Wind farms did not receive an exemption.…

If you are interested in the Katahdin Woods National Park concept that is brewing, there is a teleconference at 7PM tonight (4/1/15). There is a possibility that industrial wind power could come up as a topic as First Wind's plans are getting closer and closer to Katahdin, e.g., Molunkus.

You may be able to ask questions if you call in. Or you might at least be able to raise the issue of 600' tall flashing and thrashing industrial wind turbines potentially despoiling the…

Hearing begins today (Wednesday, Apr 1, 2015) at 1:00PM. The exact time for this particular bill is TBD.

SP0090, LD 252 An Act To Increase Transparency of Entities Receiving Substantial Amounts of Public Funding -- Room 438 State House

Listen live on the Web at: http://legislature.maine.gov/committee/#Committees/JUD

After…

The White House's estimate is based on hope - hope that some as-yet unimagined future technology will change the economics of wind power, making it more cost effective than fossil fuel-based generation.......expanding wind penetration beyond about 10 percent requires a significant increase in the amount of available "spinning reserve" - instantly available power generation from an alternative source that can be brought online whenever the wind is too strong or too weak to supply enough power…

Base-rate residential service from provincial utility Hydro-Québec clocks in at 5.6 cents per kilowatt-hour, according to its website — about one-third that of the typical customer in New England (Green Mountain Power's base rate for residences is 14.7 cents/kWh)........Fed by Québec's seemingly limitless resource of running water, banks of hydro turbines provide steady, reliable "base-load" power. Some turbines, too, can be reserved in standby mode, ready at a moment's notice to…

The new turbines were declared safer at Altamont after conducting rigged studies with search areas 10 times too small and using other tricks. One of those tricks was to exclude over 1500 carcasses for various reasons.  Altamont is not just replacing turbines. They are expanding and adding millions more raptor killing cubic feet of rotor sweep these ridgelines. When they are finished repowering at Altamont, these killing fields will have more than twice the deadly rotor sweep…

If a bare majority of 52% supports renewable energy OR energy efficiency, then perhaps only a minority supports renewable energy. Does a yet smaller minority support industrial wind? Considering the Maine media have been feeding their audiences with a steady diet of pro-wind propaganda for years, it is highly likely that such a minority of Mainers supporting wind would shrivel up significantly more once educated that wind power has high negative…

Since 1989, there’s been no significant change in the public’s concern level over global warming. To put this in perspective, note that the most expensive public-relations campaign in history—one that includes most governmental agencies, a long list of welfare-sucking corporations, the public school system, the universities, an infinite parade of celebrities, think tanks, well-funded environmental groups and an entire major political party—has, over the past 25 years or so, …

According to the following, 3 of the nation's 28 colleges which have divested themselves of fossil fuels are located in Maine. In other words, 10.7% of the nation's college divestments are in a state accounting for only 0.42% of the nation's population, meaning our per capita divestment rate is 26 times that of the nation as a whole.

Are we leaders?

Or are we suckers who have consumed far too much green kool-aid?

Even liberal Bowdoin is…

Maybe Bowdoin and other campuses in Maine would be open to hearing the facts that wind turbines have nothing but symbolic value, e.g., Robert Bryce's "Climate Change Scarecrows".

Excerpt: (from Bowdoin Orient's Editorial Board)

We are beginning to see students who do not support divestment speak out. Kuangji Chen ’15 wrote a detailed op-ed…

David Littell said he wants to continue participating in cases involving wind power contracts........ By law, commissioners can remain on the job after their term has ended, if a new commissioner hasn’t been nominated and confirmed by the Legislature.

http://www.pressherald.com/2015/03/25/puc-commissioner-plans-to-stay-after-his-term-expires/

Enron Wind Development Corp., Cottonwood (previously Gorman) Project

"The Cottonwood project will be a 40 MW wind facility consisting of fifty-three 750 kW wind turbines. Due to opposition from local land developers and from the National Audubon Society, the project moved its location 20 miles northeast of the original site, which was in the Tejon Pass near the city of Gorman. This project is expected to come on-line in December 2002. The project has not yet applied for all…

The US Energy Information Agency (EIA) data pertaining to wind energy production is greatly inflated.  As I had reported earlier about the claimed wind energy produced in America, which relates to the capacity factor of installed wind farms changed dramatically in 2005.  From 2005 forward the wind industry's energy production had magically increased and capacity factor reported to be in the range of 30-35% for every turbine in America. What all this means is that this industry may have…

I happen to believe that wind energy is a well organized scam being promoted for tax dollars. I also believe the primary perpetrators should be going to prison with right along with Robert Durst.…

Thought some of you might be interested in reading this. Our selectmen are telling our Planning Board that they do not support their decision to review (and possibly revise) the town's current wind facility ordinance. This is after all 7 members voted to review it as they have all found issues with parts and pieces of it.…

Could Maine Ratepayers end up paying wind plants in Maine the REC value obtained from contracts  involving other State RPS programs ? That would be quite perverse, but strange things happen when lawmakers screw around in the private sector.

Regarding the completion of transmission lines paid for by Maine taxpayers to accommodate out of State users.

We are in desperate need of leadership. We talk to each other but that is not enough. We have anti Wind organizations in Maine, but none offer leadership necessary to run a campaign to expose abuse of Maine electric rate payers. With leadership from a Maine 501c3 organization, we would easily get hundreds of signers of a petition! The 501c3 gets recognition and exposure they…

A decision by the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to give wind developers an extra year to bring projects online and still collect the $0.023/kWh production tax credit (PTC) sets the stage for two years of robust growth in the US market.

http://www.windaction.org/posts/42391-analysis-irs-grants-developers-an-extra-12-months

This candy coated AP release does not tell the real story.

http://www.sunjournal.com/news/maine/2015/03/23/cmp-nears-completion-5-year-14b-power-grid-upgrade/1672280

This $1.4 billion travesty (gift to the wind industry) demands an investigation. Please read more at the link below and prepare to get involved. If we do not hold the Baldacci PUC…