While many of LePage's past energy efforts have fallen flat, he will have an opportunity to strengthen his influence this spring when he replaces the last remaining Democratic appointee to the agency that regulates the state's utilities......

"His energy policy in no way reflects the truth that we have to make a clear transition away from fossil fuels — including natural gas — toward a 100 percent clean energy economy," said Glen Brand, director of the Sierra Club…

The Department of Energy, has once again buddied up with its friends in the wind industry to release an updated vision of how the United wind energy can achieve a 20% market share of the electricity (not total energy) market by 2030. This time, DOE went a step further to claim we could get to 10% wind by 2020 and a whopping 35% wind by 2050 (wind’s current electric-market share is 4.5%).…

4/15/2015 @ 11:28AM 1,075 views

"Winter Is Coming" -- Preparing For A Possible Reduction Of The Solar Investment Tax Credit

Those just adding headcount will face the daunting task of getting resources lined up and will then be faced with high cost structures in 2017. …

The recent decision of the Maine PUC to re-examine two long term offers from proposed wind plants was vehemently opposed by Commissioner Littell.

Photo courtesy of Paul Trommer

So, this photoshopped depiction of wind turbines on Mt. Katahdin might be a bit extreme, but it makes a strong warning to Katahdin Region people and everyone who loves the unique natural and scenic resources of our beautiful state! The Molunkus project proposed by First Wind (now SunEdison) will be 500+ ft tall turbines just 15 air miles…

The testimony of a number of Washington County residents and organizational leaders in Augusta on March 19 resulted in LD 295, An Act to Promote Tidal Energy Projects, to be killed by the legislature's Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology. At a workshop held on March 25, the committee voted unanimously to give the bill an ought not to pass recommendation.…

This latest update from Friends of Maine's Mountains (FMM) covers bills related to various topics - Citizens Rights, 100 MW Hydro, Scenic Impact and the Cost of Electricity. It can also be accessed at the following link:

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Legislative-Update.html?soid=1103684772079&aid=8t7IRSQ5ZFM…

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…