Saco takes down decade-old wind turbine that never lived up to its promise

The turbine broke and the manufacturer went bankrupt, and it never produced the energy that was promised in 2008.

https://www.pressherald.com/2018/11/30/saco-takes-down-decade-old-wind-turbine-that-never-lived-up-to-promise/…

Apart from line loss due to electricity traveling long distances from generation source to consumption point, if wind projects require 200 miles of transmission line to reach the average point of electricity consumption in the grid and natural gas plants require only 20 miles of transmission line to reach the average point of electricity consumption in the grid (because the latter can be built closer to population centers), should not the ratepayer be advised that the associated transmission…

By Mary Kay Barton -- November 27, 2018

“Today’s Sierra Club has strayed so far from [John] Muir’s original mission of protecting life and our natural environment it is unbelievable. We are greatly saddened to see the Sierra Club (a group many of us used to support) now lobbying for the destruction of vast swaths of rural America with industrial wind sprawl,…”…

Those efforts will be aided by a…

A few weeks ago, my wife and I were scheduled to attend a family soiree at a historic lodge on Webb Lake, near Mount Blue State Park. Since we had not spent much time in this area before, we arrived early to allow time for some sightseeing.

The highlight was a stunning vista from Linda Bean’s farm, looking south…

A $140-million, 22-wind turbine project involving four Hancock County towns is moving forward.

Longroad Energy Partners, which is developing the project, submitted an application to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) on Oct. 31, said Mark Bergeron, director of the DEP’s Bureau of Land Resources.

“One of the first steps that we take is to review the information to see that it’s complete for processing — have they submitted all the necessary materials?”…

..................Projects bidding into the clean-energy competition were scored using a 100-point scale, with the price of power accounting for 75 points. The remaining 25 points reflect values such as development status and overall chances of success, Dalton said.

Avangrid/CMP’s initial cost of $950 million translated into an attractive rate for Massachusetts electric customers. Northern Pass, by contrast, was estimated at $1.4 billion, although it has secured most of its permits…

Some of the bids would have Rhode Island buy power from land-based wind farms of up to 350 megawatts proposed by EDP Renewables and Apex Clean Energy in Maine, large solar projects of up to 170 megawatts proposed by EDF Renewables in undisclosed locations and a host of smaller solar proposals of 20 or 50 megawatts proposed by Freepoint Solar in Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Vermont.....................…

"Maine can keep our energy dollars in state by investing in an energy future that makes our economy more dynamic, competitive and clean.".........................................................................

https://www.centralmaine.com/2018/11/14/george-smith-2019-may-be-maines-year-for-clean-energy/

Some of the more important articles in this issue are:

Central Maine Power Co.’s plan to build a $1 billion, 145-mile transmission line through western Maine is facing another potential delay after the Maine Department of Environmental Protection notified the company this week that its application to build the project is incomplete.

The DEP said it cannot move forward with evaluating CMP’s New England Clean Energy Connect proposal until the company provides the mandatory information.

Continue here:…

Nearby Portland, the hotbed of wind power advocates, of course bans wind turbines over 100' tall.

While perhaps it's understandable that such a large amount of ink gets expended by the Press Herald given Scarborough is within its core readership area, wouldn't it be nice if they'd spend a proportional amount of ink on the far taller (and noisier) wind turbine factories atop our ridges?

Scarborough cell tower opponents send a strong signal to Verizon…

Despite aggressive policy goals, the industry's at a crossroads as transmission capacity expenses undercut its potential.

https://www.pressherald.com/2018/11/04/market-forces-buffeting-future-of-wind-power-in-maine/

RELATED:

Since James LaBrecque is referenced in the article, the following is being reposted here so readers can learn what Mr.…

Please comment if you can add anything indicating whether there's anything to this or not.

On Oct. 17 in Hallowell at the Public Utilities Commission hearing, Kurt Beverage, a retired Central Maine Power employee, said, “This project will help unbundle the wind resources in western Maine.” Unbundle means to separate business activities, meaning that wind transmission lines from western Maine would not have to connect with the Kibby Wind Project, if…

The Maine Public Utilities Commission has extended the process for deciding whether to award a permit needed for the 145-mile transmission project to move forward.

https://www.pressherald.com/2018/11/02/regulators-push-cmp-corridor-decision-into-march/

AND

PUC won't decide CMP's $950M transmission line project until March…

As a new study confirms, turbines would have to be stacked across state-sized swaths of the American landscape.

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“We found that the average power density—meaning the rate of energy generation divided by the encompassing area of the wind plant—was up to 100 times lower than estimates by some leading energy experts,” said lead author Lee Miller, a postdoctoral fellow who coauthored the report with…

Mercer is the latest member of the governor’s Wind Energy Advisory Commission to leave office just as the group begins its review of the wind power industry’s impacts in Maine.

AUGUSTA – The commissioner of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection is stepping down next month.

Paul Mercer, who has headed the DEP since January 2016, is the latest…

By Fred Bever, Maine Public • November 1, 2018 7:37 pm

Some supporters of Central Maine Power’s billion dollar transmission project are looking to Canada’s Hydro-Quebec to shore up prospects for a key permit in Maine. They want the Canadian utility to contribute cash to benefit Maine electricity consumers. Governor Paul LePage’s administration may be pushing Hydro-Quebec on the point, although details of the effort are murky.

The 145-mile, high-voltage transmission line would…