Dear Editor:

Are you aware that in the Planning Report No. 90 prepared for the Maine Critical Areas Programs titled “Maine’s Finest Lakes: The Results of the Maine Lakes Study” an area 10 miles east of Bangor that includes the areas surrounding Pisgah Mountain in Clifton is ranked third in the entire state for especially scenic lakes? Regardless of this prestigious designation, there is currently an alarming proposal. A wind turbine project by Silver Maple Wind Energy’s permit was…

Mass board declares turbines a public health nuisance

Neighboring Bourne residents have complained of ill effects for years.

PLYMOUTH — After years of running into roadblocks, residents who live near Future Generation Wind made some headway Wednesday night when the Plymouth Board of Health unanimously voted to declare the four turbines along Route 25 a nuisance.

“We want to do justice to this and to all the parties involved,” board…

It's curious that there's no mention in this article that the turbines would be spread out on three sides of the 7,000-plus acre Great Heath the largest peatland in the state and an area the state protects. See earlier post:…

By Lori Valigra, BDN Staff • February 10, 2020 6:00 am

Updated: February 10, 2020 7:27 am

Fossil fuel and nuclear generation companies could lose millions of dollars in revenue annually — or $1.8 billion over 15 years — if Central Maine Power Co.’s hydropower corridor is approved, according to a new study released Monday.

The $1 billion New England Clean Energy Connect project, known as the NECEC, could lower wholesale energy prices paid to companies that generate…

CLIFTON – More than 50 area residents, many of whom own property around Hopkins Pond (which straddles the Hancock and Penobscot County lines north of Mariaville and Otis), ventured to the Clifton town office on Monday evening to voice their displeasure with a proposal to erect five wind turbines on Pisgah Mountain.

“The natural beauty of Hopkins Pond is priceless,” Molly Kealy, who owns property on the pond, told a panel of four Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)…

February 8, 2020

The wind industry claims a virtuous, moral superiority, but the millions of birds and bats that it slaughters each year, no doubt, think otherwise.

If wind power proponents weren’t so arrogant and sanctimonious, the fact that their beloveds slice and dice countless birds and bats and crush millions of tonnes of beneficial insects each year would probably pass as the natural and justifiable incident of an important power source.

But, starting from the…

Wind Turbine Safety Setbacks Now Exceeding 3000 Feet

One Falmouth Massachusetts 110 Db Wind Turbine Requires Almost 3000 Feet

By Frank…

................An estimated 90 percent of carbon dioxide emissions in Maine stem from burning petroleum products, and more than half of that comes from cars and trucks. And as of last year, less than 1 percent of the 1.3 million vehicles registered in Maine were all-electric vehicles, or EVs.

There are many reasons. Even with government incentives, EVs cost more than comparable gas-powered cars. Drivers have lingering concerns about running out of battery charge, so-called range…

Eric Brakey on Wind and Solar

On Jan. 30, the University of Maine’s chapter of Young Americans for Liberty (YAL) hosted Eric Brakey, a former Republican Maine state senator that is running for U.S. Congress in Maine’s 2nd District. Brakey’s visit was held as a town hall style meeting in the Donald P. Corbett Building on the Orono campus. 

Those in…

Some of the more important articles in this issue are:

FERC Orders PJM to Expand Minimum Offer Price Rule

Another perspective on the important FERC ruling

Intermittent & Unreliable Wind & Solar The Greatest Subsidy Scam In History

The Evolution of Electricity Rates

Wind power in France: a lie and a swindle?

The Left’s Opposition to Mining Threatens Its Green Dream

Iowa cardiologist shares health concerns over wind turbines

Top…

An energy economist, Richard Silkman, has been recently distilling a 98-page plan to make Maine a zero-carbon state by 2050.

It relies on a large-scale shift from fossil fuels to an expanded electricity grid powered mainly by new renewables. His main selling point? While the grid upgrades and investments in new generation and storage would cost nearly $60 billion over that period, the entire project should not cost more over time…

The report was neither accurate nor balanced, a company spokesperson says.

Regardless of how readers may feel about the New England Clean Energy Connect project — the line that would transmit renewable, hydroelectricity from Quebec to the New England power grid — I think everyone can agree that accurate and balanced reporting is necessary in evaluating the opportunities the project represents.

I am writing in response…

Maine on target to meet near-term greenhouse gas emissions goals

New estimates of how much carbon Maine forests store indicate that achieving carbon neutrality will be easier than hitting Gov. Mills’ robust emissions targets for 2050.

....................Scientists also provided the first concrete…

By Lora Whelan | The Quoddy Tides | January 24, 2020 | quoddytides.com ~~

Over 60 Washington County residents gathered on the afternoon of January 9 for the first of two public hearings held by the county commissioners in the county courthouse in Machias to discuss the Washington County Downeast Wind Municipal Development and Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District. Commission Chair Chris Gardner explained that the commissioners have no jurisdiction over planning and zoning concerns…

This article is wrong on so many levels.

Maine has the potential to power itself through wind

.......As of 2018, Maine was harvesting 923 megawatts of wind-generated power, meeting 21 percent of the state’s overall power needs of 4,615 megawatts. “There is plenty of wind in Maine,” Thaler said. “Does Maine have the potential to meet its own energy needs through wind power? The short answer is yes.”..................…

Sweeping “minimum offer” rule will likely cut into the competitive edge for renewables as a hedge against fossil fuels.

Motions filed this week are asking the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to change a ruling that could price many renewables out of the PJM capacity market, while driving up prices for consumers.

FERC’s Minimum Offer Price Rule, or MOPR, calls for PJM to set minimum bids for state-subsidized electricity generators in those auctions. The rule…

.................Blittersdorf cites a hostile political climate for his recent decision, and he credits Gov. Phil Scott, who campaigned on opposing industrial wind development in 2016, as the main force behind this new reality.

“In 2012 there were over a dozen wind projects in development. Now there are none,” he said. “This is truly a sad state of affairs for Vermont. Climate change is the greatest challenge of our time. We must combat the carbon emissions crisis and move to a…

It's curious that there's no mention in this article that the turbines would be spread out on three sides of the 7,000-plus acre Great Heath the largest peatland in the state and an area the state protects. See earlier post:…

Excerpts from the speech are below. See links at bottom of this post for the full speech. Note that there is no reference in the speech to onshore wind. Onshore wind has become a very controversial topic since it was first rammed down Mainers' throats over 10 years ago. Many politicians will thus avoid its mention. However, mere avoidance of referring to onshore wind in politicians' speeches should not cause anyone to drop their guard. The threat continues to be real and various areas are…