A wind ordinance is ordnance to the wind developers. Let it rain ordinances on these pickpockets.

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Greenwood selectmen have set Aug. 6 for a special town meeting to decide on proposed amendments to the commercial wind farm section of the town ordinance.

The meeting is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. at the American Legion Hall on Gore Road, next to the Town Office.

On July 9,…

The following is a list of Maine municipalities that have enacted wind ordinances. Please see the source link below where many of the municipality names are clickable and follow these hyperlinks to additional information. Please post comments if you have additional municipalities to add - not just for ordinances but also ordinances under consideration and/or wind power moratoriums.…

7/18/18

Rest in Peace Rand, with deepest sympathies to the Stowell family.

From the website of Friends of Maine's Mountains.

July 18, 2018…

More than 600 Central Maine Power Co. customers who believe they have been overcharged on their electricity bills have sued the company and are seeking class-action status, according to a law firm representing them............................CMP has acknowledged that new billing software introduced last October created issues for some customers, but the company attributed the spike in bills to an 18 percent increase in the standard-offer electricity…

July 20, 2018

Referring to the proposed Canadian hydro transmission line Smith writes "They reported that the project will suppress existing and future renewable energy generation in Maine due in part to increased congestion on the transmission line."...........................................And of course, this project will drive many tourists out of western and northern Maine, another cruel blow to sporting camps, guides, and rural Maine businesses and…

7/19/2018

Celeste Wanner, an analyst at the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA, Washington, DC, US), kicked off the event with an update of the state of the National industry. In 2016, energy capacity from wind, surpassed hydropower as the number one source of renewable energy. At the end of the first quarter of 2018 AWEA estimated the cumulative capacity of US wind at 89,379 MW. Land-based turbines now generate more than 6% of the nation’s electricity. Bigger, more-efficient…

July 19, 2018

It's disturbing how uninformed some of the comments are regarding President Trump's recent strong messages to our European allies, especially Germany. Consider this basic overview about a key element that he rightly expressed concern about regarding the German energy plan:

Fact #1: Germany was a lead proponent of the Paris "Accord." In that agreement, the signatories have identified "climate change" as a matter of utmost importance.

Fact #2: Those same…

The substation project is part of a $214 million effort to improve the power transmission system throughout Greater Portland, including substation proposals in Freeport, North Yarmouth, Cumberland, Gray and Portland................

In addition to building or upgrading several substations throughout Greater Portland, the Brightline Initiative calls for upgrading transmission lines through Gray, North Yarmouth, Yarmouth, Freeport, Cumberland, Falmouth, Westbrook and…

The Maine Public Utilities Commission voted Wednesday to launch a new investigation into whether Central Maine Power Co. has been overcharging its customers.

PUC Chairman Mark Vannoy said the vote came in response to a complaint filed by over a dozen CMP customers on May 29. The complaint, led by former state Rep. Herbert Adams, D-Portland, accuses CMP of charging rates that exceed the state limit for the utility’s return on equity. It also alleges that CMP has been deliberately…

CMP Ratepayers United, which has demanded that the state conduct a more thorough investigation into customers’ complaints of inflated CMP bills, also has been invited to join the lawsuit, said Sumner Lipman, the founding partner of Lipman and Katz.

CMP Ratepayers United has more than 4,800 members.

About 97,000 Central Maine Power customers‘ monthly bills increased 50 percent or more in December, January or February over the same month a year earlier, according to information…

Gov. Paul LePage’s lawyers asked a judge Friday to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the governor’s executive order to halt wind turbine permits in western and coastal regions of rural Maine.

Advocacy groups challenged the constitutionality of LePage’s January order, claiming it’s causing uncertainty in the wind industry. A judge in Cumberland County heard arguments Friday.

LePage’s executive order says no wind turbine permits are to be issued…

The full papers from Ms. Linowes can be downloaded at the links below.

June 20, 2018 - Part 1

Texas Public Policy Foundation released the paper “Texas Wind Power Story: Part 1 – How Subsidies Drive Texas Wind Power Development,” which shows that the growth of the wind industry in Texas is spurred by, and only viable because of subsidies such as the production tax credit, along with tax breaks at the state and local…

Greenwood to schedule meeting on commercial wind farms

July 10, 2018

GREENWOOD — Selectmen are expected to schedule a special town meeting to decide on proposed amendments to the town ordinance governing commercial wind…

"If we would like to see investments avoid Maine, moratoria and unfair and unreasonable treatment of the wind industry is the best way to do that," Payne said.

Maine had its own renewable energy targets in place in order to send positive market signals to investors, Payne said, but they are not enforceable.

Even a short moratorium could still have longer term impacts, "because it sends market signals" of unreliability and uncertainty, ACORE's Foley…

The Maine Public Utilities Commission on Tuesday agreed to expand the scope of the investigation into Central Maine Power Co.’s high bills.

Liberty Consulting Group of Pennsylvania at the end of May started an audit of CMP’s new metering and billing systems following hundreds of customer complaints about high bills.

In their ruling today, PUC Chairman Mark Vannoy and commissioners R. Bruce…

Some of the more important articles in this issue are:

Wind and Solar Require Massive Subsidies

Renewable energy seeks demand, investment to survive Trump squeeze

Technical Experts: Wind Turbines Pose “Significant Danger” To Environment

Video: Wind Turbine Infrasound

Even ‘clean’ and ‘green’ energy have an environmental impact

Energy development: free market purists vs the state

The Electric Power Struggle

Two…

California to Arizona sounds like Mass to Maine.

Billionaire philanthropist Tom Steyer is financing the initiative through his NextGen Climate Action group, which supported similar efforts in Nevada and Michigan. But only the Arizona measure spawned a political battle, with the Republican-controlled Legislature passing a rule to help insulate utilities and the parent company of the state's largest electricity provider bankrolling opposition…

The company has provided few details so far about the project, which is part of a $214 million effort to improve the power transmission system throughout Greater Portland, including substation proposals in Freeport, North Yarmouth, Cumberland, Gray and Portland.

The plan to upgrade what’s called the Cape Substation comes as the city tries to control development in its increasingly popular waterfront neighborhoods, including a 2014 ban on loading crude oil into tankers that the…

The Heat Wave Sent U.S. Power Demand Surging to Highest in Years