Long Islander's Blog – May 2017 Archive (21)

The parent company of the electric utility Emera Maine hopes to establish an undersea cable linking electricity generators in northern Maine, Newfoundland, Labrador and Nova Scotia with users in Massachusetts. 

http://www.islandinstitute.org/working-waterfront/proposed-undersea-cable-would-cross-gulf-maine

According to Renewable Northwest, a renewable energy nonprofit organization, the average wind turbine operates at around 50 decibels. However, a 2003 study indicates the during nighttime hours, the sound produced from wind turbines could be 18 decibels higher than the predicted daytime levels due to the lack of ambient background noise. This translates to the average wind turbine being 13 decibels higher than the amount that causes adverse health effects. The study was conducted of wind…

“But after eight years of running a start-up and doing everything from writing stories to fundraising to changing the ink cartridges, the time has come to slow down a bit and concentrate on what I enjoy the most — writing.”

John Christie, co-founder, will continue his work with the Center, as Consulting Editor.…

NOTE: This article now appears in the BDN.

Good to see former EUT Co-Chair Stacey Fitts working for the wind industry he helped while in the EUT. He was also a member of both of Governor Baldacci's wind task forces. And of course heinous expedited wind law creator Baldacci was made vice chair of Avangrid, the nation's second largest…

Agenda:

9:00 - 9:40 a.m. The State of Wind Energy in the U.S.

9:40 - 10:20 a.m. The State of Wind Energy in New England

10:20 - 10:40 a.m. Break

10:40 - 11:30 a.m. The State of Wind Energy in…

Some of the more important articles in this issue are:

Wind turbines are not clean or green, and they provide zero global energy

Pitting Wind and Solar Against Nuclear Power

What Happens to an Economy When Forced to Use Renewable Energy?

How Much Does the U.S. Govt Subsidize Electricity Generating Technologies?

Wind Subsidies Should End

Is Renewable Energy an Economic Boon or Bust

Environmental…

The company who didn't pay any taxes and whose CEO Jeff Immelt headed the previous administration's Economic Advisory Board and then chaired the President Obama's  outside panel of economic advisers. The ultimate insider.

The European Commission is reviewing whether GE misled EU officials examining a deal to buy LM Wind Power, a maker of wind-turbine blades, for 1.5 billion euros ($1.7 billion), said the people, who asked not to be named as…

Click on the PDF and ask yourself if they might be somehow shoveling money to offshore wind.…

Public Service Board retains setback limit of 10 times the height of the turbine; a 500-foot turbine would have to be at least 5,000 feet from the nearest residence.

http://www.windaction.org/posts/46724-public-service-board-issues-final-sound-standards-for-wind-projects#.WR2auOsrKpo

Citizens in 20 localities rejected wind-power expansion. Big Wind’s lobbyists and promoters love to claim that their projects are being welcomed by rural communities everywhere. The reality is rather different. Last Tuesday, voters in 20 rural towns in Michigan went to the polls and rejected or restricted the expansion of wind energy.…

A legislative committee on Tuesday unanimously voted against a bill aimed at forcing the University of Maine to move a pair of demonstration floating wind turbines farther from the coast of Monhegan Island, keeping the project alive.

http://bangordailynews.com/2017/05/10/energy/bill-to-move-umaine-offshore-wind-project-dies-in-committee/

PPH…

Angela Monroe, the acting director of the Governor’s Energy Office testified last week that the governor no longer supports the university’s current project. She cited the above-market prices for the electricity that would be borne by ratepayers against the unknown benefits that might or might not ever accrue.…

In the role, Hobbins would lead an office of attorneys and staff to represent low-income, residential and small business utility customers in cases that come before the Maine Public Utilities Commission.…

Oracle of Omaha or Parasite of the Public Trough?

The investment for the Rattlesnake project came from MidAmerican Wind Tax Equity Holdings, a subsidiary of Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway Energy, and US lender Citi..............

Halligan said Goldwind "safe-harboured" 1GW of equipment in the US before the end of 2016.

This means the company has firm orders for at least 5% of the 1GW and has contracts for options to buy the…

Subsidies, subterfuge and subjugation on a legendary island.

The bait-and-switch scheme that Maine Aqua Ventus, under the cover of the University of Maine, has pulled on the people of Monhegan is a disgrace.

More here:…

Select must read testimony, which discusses the bill's negatives is highlighted in red below. Simply click on a person's name to read their written testimony.

Thursday, May 4, 2017 1:00 PM,Cross Building, Room 211

Disclaimer: The following documents are digital reproductions of written testimony presented to joint standing committees before and during public hearings. The Legislature is not responsible for the content, accuracy, or appropriateness of any testimony posted…

The proposed rules set a standard of 42 decibels during the day and 35 at night.

They would also establish setback standards of 10 times the turbine height, so a 500-foot turbine, for example, would have to be 5,000 feet from the nearest residence or property line.

Stephen Ambrose, a sound expert who spoke at a PSB technical workshop in Montpelier, said the proposed standards surprised a lot of people when they were released.

"I've been working at this almost six years,…

Since 1997 the numbers of eagle carcasses from wind energy has grown every year. As of 2016 more than 35,000 eagles have been shipped to the National Eagle Repository near Denver. In 1997 when America had just 1/35th of the installed wind energy we have today, wind energy was already listed as one of the primary sources of the repository’s eagle carcasses.

More here:…

Committee On Energy, Utilities and Technology

First Wind is the gift that keeps on giving - this time via their spin off company Deepwater Wind. Note that their CEO, Jeffrey Grybowski, was chief of staff for Rhode Island's governor.

Three miles off the coast of Block Island, R.I., the wind farm is currently generating enough electricity to power 2,000 homes, but building the five turbines costed $300 million. That’s roughly $150,000 per household just to build the turbines, not to…