BDN: First Wind Pushing for 600' Tall Turbine Allowances

Two thoughts:

1. That's about 10% higher than the Washington Monument

2. Our # 1 industry, tourism, relies on people fleeing the views of…

Please see the comments below for latest Brad Blake email to BDN Reporter Jen Lynds on First Wind.

Yet another incursion in Katahdin country.

First Wind celebrates Oakfield windpower project groundbreaking

The power that will be generated by the project is contracted to be…

On a test score, the following sort of discrepancy could be the difference between failing a course or getting a good grade. But when it comes to electricity, i.e., the ratepayer's wallet, who cares?

PPH: The Ultimate Sustainable Campus Map

Excerpt:

UMPI’s wind turbine has not yet lived up to its projected potential of producing 700,000 kilowatt hours of electricity annually. 

 …

Because the term of another commissioner, David Littell, is up in March, Welch’s early departure means the next governor will appoint two of the three PUC commissioners.

http://www.pressherald.com/2014/09/24/tom-welch-maines-puc-chair-to-step-down-early/

Nauseating how the photo shamelessly wraps this taxpayer scam in the flag in an attempt to convey patriotism when in fact it is traitorous treasury draining fraud.…

Maine regulators agree on safety of CMP’s ‘smart meters’

http://www.pressherald.com/2014/09/23/smart-meters/

When the supply can't be depended upon as it can with a source like natural gas, an alternate way to match up supply and demand is to control the demand. Enter the smart meter.

"A smart grid would allow the…

EXCERPT:

Wind power from projects such as those in northern Maine have also become competitive with other sources of generation

http://www.pressherald.com/2014/09/23/maine-voices-with-maine-at-clean-energy-tipping-point-next-governor-to-play-crucial-role/

Excerpts:

Bowdoin College was putting in a major new solar complex, designed to generate about 8 percent of the campus’ annual electricity needs. 

What surprised us were the efforts being made in just about every corner of the state as institutions of higher education, both public and private, gear up for a future where oil is scarce, the stresses of global warming increase and Mainers have to become more…

Maine regulators asked to decide whether to charge electricity ratepayers for natural gas expansion

PUC staff is scheduled to report Oct. 1 on whether and to what extent the three-member commission should use its authority to assess a tariff on electricity ratepayers to pay for new pipeline capacity.…

Excerpts:

This is an example of what could happen in this country, especially in New England, which has no indigenous fossil fuels but is rich in the wind, sun, rivers and tides that could produce emission-free electricity long into the future, with no fuel costs.

Throughout his term, Gov. LePage has focused on lowering energy costs by chasing the mirage of low-cost hydropower from Quebec and building a pipeline from the Pennsylvania…

EXCERPT:

Adams, whose First Wind title is Executive Vice President and Chief Development Officer, made news when it came to light that he had taken an equity interest in First Wind while still serving as Chair of the Maine Public Utilities Commission. He has been on the “Host Committee” for at least two Michaud fundraising parties. 

 …

The project is expected to generate $11 million in property tax revenue for Hancock County over the 30-year term of the agreement — $5.82 million of which will end up in county coffers, and Hancock Wind will keep roughly $5.12 million. The wind developer will retain 70 percent of its annual tax payments to the county for 20 years, with the county getting the remaining 30 percent. But for each of the final 10 years of the agreement, the county would keep 100 percent of the project tax…

Unfortunately, I don't believe the state's major newspapers have spent any ink on the content of what candidates Cutler and Michaud had to say at E2Tech about energy this morning in Portland, instead placing all focus on the Governor's decision to withdraw from the event.

Did Cutler and Michaud disagree at all about wind power or are they each equally beholden to the wind industry?…

The role wind farms play in improving the quality of our air and the health of our environment is undeniable.

http://bangordailynews.com/2014/09/11/opinion/contributors/frankfort-will-see-wind-farms-benefits-but-so-will-the-rest-of-maine/?ref=regionstate

Biodiversity Research Institute will use the federal money to help develop high-tech cameras.

http://www.pressherald.com/2014/09/10/maine-group-gets-grant-to-detect-bats-birds-near-wind-turbines/

Selling out:

Meanwhile, three environmental advocacy groups — the Sierra Club, Conservation Law Foundation and Environment Maine — announced their support for the project Tuesday in a joint news release. 

In February, the Appalachian Mountain Club, the Maine Appalachian Trail Club and the Appalachian Trail Conservancy …

Meet the latest wealthy political powerhouse, California liberal billionaire Tom Steyer, who has emerged as an environmental hero and major source of cash for Democrats.  



This is not just any Big-Bucks liberal. He's the extremely successful …

EXCERPT:

Dagher stressed that UMaine is still in the running for a significantly larger federal award. If more funding becomes available * through the budgeting process or another recipient fails to meet the terms of their agreement with the Department of Energy, the department could dole out that money to any candidates that didn’t receive the full amount, according to Danielson.

Friday’s event drew Rep. Mike Michaud and Sen. Susan Collins, who were credited for their…

EXCERPT:

The moratorium applies to new towers more than 40 feet tall that generate wind power or provide radio or television transmission, commercial mobile wireless services, unlicensed wireless services, cellular telephone services, specialized mobile radio communications, common carrier wireless exchange access services, personal communications service or pager services.…

EXCERPTS:

This time around, Eolian officials have been seeking comment from residents about the $100,000 the company is guaranteeing to pay every year in a community benefits package.

Frankfort’s current wind ordinance, passed by a 244-222 vote, in the fall of 2011, became the first land-use regulation to be enacted in the Waldo County community. It creates a setback of 1 mile from the turbines to each property line of a landowner who is not…