Long Islander's Blog – July 2021 Archive (11)

by Jessica Piper July 29, 2021

Updated July 30, 2021

AUGUSTA, Maine — A referendum aiming to take down the Central Maine Power corridor will appear as one question on Maine ballots this fall after the state’s high court rejected an attempt to split it into three separate questions.

Opponents of the CMP corridor project, which aims to connect hydropower from Quebec with New England’s electric grid via a transmission line in western…

by Fred Bever, Maine Public July 29, 2021

The Mills administration is partnering with a commercial wind energy company, New England Aqua Ventus, to seek a lease of 16-square miles of federal waters south of for a wind farm of up to 12 wind turbines tens of miles south of Bremen, with a goal of researching novel “floating platform” technology and its effects on ecosystems and fisheries.

“It’s positive that the Biden Administration is examining these questions, and we…

Greed Energy Economics:

Are Existing Coal Plants Less Expensive Than New Gas, Wind or Solar?

Americans Finally Waking Up to the Nightmare Cost of Unreliable Wind and Solar

Net zero emissions? That will be $3000 from each of you, every year

Report: Philadelphia’s $24M Electric Bus Fleet in Complete Shambles

Renewable Energy Health and Ecosystem Consequences:

Retired Batteries May Bring ‘Explosive…

CMP parent Avangrid is locked in a bitter dispute with rival NextEra over the upgrading of equipment at the Seabrook nuclear station, without which the 145-mile corridor can’t connect to the New England grid.

By Colin Woodard Staff Writer

A heated dispute between Central Maine Power’s parent company and rival energy giant NextEra is threatening to delay the completion of CMP’s controversial 145-mile transmission corridor.…

The governor calls the performance of Maine's electric utilities 'abysmal' but says the bill to form a consumer-owned utility was 'hastily drafted' could create more problems than it solves.

EXCERPTS:

Supporters already have begun laying the groundwork for a separate, statewide referendum on whether to force Central Maine Power and Versant Power to sell their assets to a new Pine Tree Power Co.

The bill’s chief sponsor, Democratic Rep. Seth Berry of…

Maine Public | By Fred Bever

Updated July 13, 2021 at 12:42 PM EDT

Small sampling:

Wind energy in crisis as expansion stalls in Germany

Offshore wind support vessel forced to leave after fishermen protest

New Maine law prohibits offshore wind projects in state waters

Two Australian wind projects fined $1+ million for their role in blackout…

Three miles is nothing. But why is the setback on inland wind turbines only 1.5 times the height of the turbine, i.e., less than 1,000 feet?

Mills signs new law that prohibits offshore wind projects in state waters

Credit: By Fred Bever | Maine Public | July 7, 2021 |

Gov. Mills has signed compromise legislation to permanently bar future development of offshore wind projects in state waters.…

Unfortunately, when a wind turbine catches fire hundreds of feet above the ground, fire personnel often cannot reach the fire and simply wait for the fire to burn out. That might be adequate on the Great Plains, but what happens in remote and bone dry Maine forests?

Excerpts

Maine’s prolonged drought, now more than 16 months long and impacting the whole state, has exacerbated the threat of wildfires by creating an earlier…

EXCERPTS:

AUGUSTA, Maine — Former two-term Republican Gov. Paul LePage filed with the state to kick off his long-awaited 2022 run against Gov. Janet Mills, officially beginning the race between the two political archrivals. 

It is an expected step for LePage, who battled often with the Democratic governor during his tenure in the Blaine…

Bangor Daily News | June 30, 2021 | bangordailynews.com ~~

MADAWASKA, Maine – Gov. Janet Mills signed a bill to give Aroostook’s renewable energy industry a boost Tuesday afternoon.

LD 1710, which passed through the Legislature with bipartisan support, looks to connect the Northern Maine energy grid to the one powering the rest of New England. The hope is to facilitate renewable energy exports, which are costly right now as northern Maine’s power has to be wheeled through New…