Long Islander's Blog – March 2015 Archive (30)

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…

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…

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/

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…

While you may not have the time to read this latest piece of pro-wind propaganda, please download the file for your future reference and browse through the table of contents.

http://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/WindVision_Report_final.pdf

This underscores the need for the…

Click on the following link to read FMM's testimony in favor of LD 132, An Act to Remove the 100 Megawatt Limit on Hydropower under the Renewable Resources Laws.

FMM%20Testimony%20on%20LD%20132.doc

The EUT Committee's work session covering this bill is Wednesday, Mar 25, 2015 from 1PM-5PM.…

LePage Seeks to Remove Cap on Maine Hydropower

The cap was put in place several years ago to encourage renewable energy generation, and it exempts wind power. LePage says the cap prevents Maine from accessing cheaper power from Canada, and he's trying the get the Legislature to agree.…

3/17/15

Business reporter Darren Fishell at the Bangor Daily News wrote earlier today that, “The corporate subsidy watchdog agency Good Jobs First found Central Maine Power Co. parent company Iberdrola topped the list of all recipients of federal grants and tax credits, primarily in tax…

“EDP's remarks appear to be a standard wind industry tactic to try to quiet an increasingly vocal, well-educated and well-informed opposition......"

EDP filed plans on Nov. 5 with the Federal Aviation Administration for 29 wind turbines standing 499 feet in height......…

SunEdison, which purchased wind developer First Wind earlier this year, was second on the list for the same reason. Both companies are major owners of wind projects.

.....the public has a right to detailed, company-specific information on the support federal agencies are providing to the private sector, and that disclosure is fundamental to reform,” the report states.…

Lisa Linowes - February 24, 2015

Taxes & Subsidies USA

Clearly, the interpretation of what constitutes “begin construction” is important, yet at no time during the two years since the PTC was extended with this wording did the IRS bother to seek public comment under the Administrative Procedure Act ("APA"), the federal statute that requires federal agencies to provide notice and an opportunity to comment before promulgating rules.

Read more at:…

Before wind power developer Atlantic Wind moves ahead with its 50-turbine project in Somerset County, state regulators want to answer big legal questions about what kind of financial ties the developer can have with Central Maine Power Co.

Both companies are owned by the Spanish utility Iberdrola, though both are separated by various levels of corporate subsidiary relationships.…

Business owners have raised fears of “irretrievable damage” if the go-ahead is given for a major windfarm in the Angus glens. Hundreds of responses have already been received after the planning application was submitted to Angus Council and Perth and Kinross Council.…

Unfortunately, those of us close to the wind fight in Maine know all too well that Maine Audubon's telling of wildlife tales sometimes overlooks things.

Please be sure to click on and read: FMM attacks Maine Audubon on ties to industrial wind and flawed report

The BDN article is …

If the National Park Service sees fit to keep wind turbines 34 miles away from a lighthouse that is only 156' tall as noted at the link below, then surely Maine needs to reassess the far smaller distances it tolerates from these out of scale and place structures. Perhaps the NPS needs to intervene on behalf of the Appalachian…

89 percent of residents categorize our rural way of life as “important” or “very important.” The plan’s land use goal says that new development should “be compatible with [Orland’s] rural attributes such as open ridgelines and scenic views.” Yet our selectmen have supported a plan for 500-foot industrial wind turbines.…