Al Diamon writes about MPBN's non-disclosure of First Wind contributions in article about First Wind
Please see Mr. Diamon's piece here:
http://thebollard.com/2013/07/01/media-mutt-90/
In addition to disclosure, it would be nice to see some hard edged reporting.
For example, the MPBN article used the wholly deceptive and tired wind industry claim that "...the project would generate 186 megawatts of electrcity - enough to power as many as 87,000 homes."
http://www.mpbn.net/Home/tabid/36/ctl/ViewItem/mid/5347/ItemId/2817...
Wouldn't it be nice if this was instead written something like:
"...according to First Wind the project would generate 186 megawatts of electricity. However, it is standard operating procedure for the wind industry to make grossly exaggerated claims as to the benefits it produces and in reality, the project, like most Maine wind projects, would more likely produce only about 25% of that amount. The company also stated that this would be enough to power as many as 87,000 homes. However, due to the aforementioned 25% of capacity production, such a figure is likely overstated by a factor of four. And critics of wind power point out that due to the constantly fluctuating level of the wind accompanied by the fact that the power grid is incapable of storing electricity, not a single home can depend on wind for its power needs."
Will we ever see hard edged reporting on this issue by MPBN when $25,000 (or more) of their revenues derive from First Wind in addition to the fact that the renewable energy happy federal government provides 15% of their funding with grants and other funding? Would MPBN do a story on how the Energy & Utilities Committee failed to read and/or act upon the taxpayer-funded report from Maine's Office of Energy Independence and Security which suggested significant changes to the state's 2008 Expedited Wind Law which is central to many of the problems caused by the expansion of wind power in Maine? Would MPBN ever address the issue that the ratepayer-funded $1.4 billion CMP upgrade was essential to Maine wind power expansion and that Kurt Adams, the PUC chair in place as the PUC considered the project jumped from the PUC to become First Wind's director of transmision? Would MPBN ever cover the fact that the prior EUT Committee that strangled a dozen citizen sponsored wind bills had three of its 12 members working for or otherwise benefiting financially from the wind industry?
There are so many serious things wrong with wind power in this state. The list is very long. Yet we never see MPBN move beyond the game of softball when it comes to their news coverage. They have the word "public" in their name, but are they truly serving the public? On the issue of wind power, the answer is resoundingly no.
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Comment by Sherwin Start on August 29, 2013 at 7:11pm
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U got To KNOW that There HAS to Be A lot At Stake Here When The AUDUBON Society and NRCM TooK BRIBES for their Support!!I used to Belong to BOTH Organizations Now I do NOt Belong to Either!! THATS Right Folks THEY WERE BRIBED!!!
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Comment by Long Islander on July 6, 2013 at 6:57pm
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Both NRCM and Maine Sierra contribute to MPBN.
What a tangled web.
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Audubon supports wind power while enjoying the contributions. NRCOM, too. Thousands of bats, birds, and hundreds of eagles, The contributions evisdently have paid off. NRCOM, too. ClydeMacDonald, Hampden
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The pro-wind bias in the media borders on the unbelievable. Congrats to Al for breaking through the clutter. There is way too much taxpayer and rate payer money being wasted on wind!
Maine as Third World Country:
CMP Transmission Rate Skyrockets 19.6% Due to Wind Power
Click here to read how the Maine ratepayer has been sold down the river by the Angus King cabal.
Maine Center For Public Interest Reporting – Three Part Series: A CRITICAL LOOK AT MAINE’S WIND ACT
******** IF LINKS BELOW DON'T WORK, GOOGLE THEM*********
(excerpts) From Part 1 – On Maine’s Wind Law “Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine if the law’s goals were met." . – Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, August 2010 https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/From Part 2 – On Wind and Oil Yet using wind energy doesn’t lower dependence on imported foreign oil. That’s because the majority of imported oil in Maine is used for heating and transportation. And switching our dependence from foreign oil to Maine-produced electricity isn’t likely to happen very soon, says Bartlett. “Right now, people can’t switch to electric cars and heating – if they did, we’d be in trouble.” So was one of the fundamental premises of the task force false, or at least misleading?" https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-swept-task-force-set-the-rules/From Part 3 – On Wind-Required New Transmission Lines Finally, the building of enormous, high-voltage transmission lines that the regional electricity system operator says are required to move substantial amounts of wind power to markets south of Maine was never even discussed by the task force – an omission that Mills said will come to haunt the state.“If you try to put 2,500 or 3,000 megawatts in northern or eastern Maine – oh, my god, try to build the transmission!” said Mills. “It’s not just the towers, it’s the lines – that’s when I begin to think that the goal is a little farfetched.” https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/flaws-in-bill-like-skating-with-dull-skates/
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Hannah Pingree on the Maine expedited wind law
Hannah Pingree - Director of Maine's Office of Innovation and the Future
"Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine."
https://pinetreewatch.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/
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