Citizens' Task Force on Wind Power - Maine

Camden Hills windmill wannabes to meet August 2 on next moves. But mustn't NIMs make up part of the crew?

The Camden Hills Energy Committee Meets Monday night 5:30 p.m. in the Town of Camden's Washington Street Conference Room. News article here and below,

Their Plan: Obtain $50,000 to 70,000 from "private sources" to hire consultant to "prove" that a fragged Ragged Mtn would be a good thing. Select a committee of people from Camden Rockport and Hope. Create ballot or warrant question to be voted on by residents of the three towns. "Des FitzGerald's notes" says the unauthored news item in Herald Gazette, "said the ballot question should "frame the issues relevant to the proposed project in order to get a sense of community support or opposition to the proposed plan." [more below the picture]

THOUGHTS: For the Camden Energy Committee and its spawn to be ethical, it MUST include opponents of wind extraction as well as supporters. (NIMs, i.e. Not In Maine-ers) It cannot be only one or the other. It is not fair perhaps not lawful for this civic energy committee to use public space and public officials to prepare ONLY a pro-industrial development rose-coloured-glasses version of wind turbine "spin", as the only official information being given out. Clearly, given the growing percentage of citizens dubious about continued land-based windfarm sprawl, being fair and balanced means both sides of the story.

So, who's going to this shindig? I am. Need a second. And remember the Maine Lobster Festival the 4th 5th 6th & 7th. The marine fisheries/conservation tent will resound to the thrumming of thw worst of Fox Island wind turbine noise, and and as many critics of wind as show up at the Penobscot Bay Watch tables - other bay stuff, too.)

Ragged Mountain wind project remains on agenda. By Staff. Jul 30, 2010 Herald Gazette

CAMDEN — The Camden Energy Committee will meet Monday, Aug. 2 for an agenda that includes a discussion of ideas for suggestions to the Select Board regarding a Ragged Mountain wind project and a recent presentation by George Baker of the Island Institute's Community Wind Program. Meeting is 5:30 p.m. in the Washington Street Conference Room.

At its June 7 meeting, the Energy Committee discussed possible next steps for the formation of a multi-town committee to pursue funding and preliminary assessment of issues specific to Ragged Mountain. In notes prepared for the upcoming meeting, Des FitzGerald suggested that the Camden Select Board form a working committee made up of 12 members, four of whom would come from each of the three towns involved -- Camden, Hope and Rockport. Each town would appoint one municipal official to the committee with the rest of the members being residents of that municipality.The committee would not be a Camden municipal committee but would work closely with all the towns.

This committee would raise $50,000 to 70,000 from private sources to cover the initial preliminary assessment of the Ragged Mountain site for wind power. The assessment would include the following tasks:

Identify the consulting group to hire to help complete the assessment work assigned.

Estimate the appropriate size of the project such as the number of turbines and total megawatts generated.

Estimate the total cost of the project.

Conduct a high level initial environmental assessment.

Estimate the cost of energy from the project.

The committee would also be charged with beginning a community outreach process for abutters and town residents and would consider preparing a ballot or warrant question to be voted on by residents of the three towns.

FitzGerald's notes said the ballot question should "frame the issues relevant to the proposed project in order to get a sense of community support or opposition to the proposed plan."

The multi-town committee would work closely with the towns as they developed their wind ordinances, the notes said.

The Camden Energy Committee will meet Monday, Aug. 2 at 5:30 p.m. in the Washington Street Conference Room.

The Herald Gazette can be reached at 207-236-8511 or by e-mail at news@villagesoup.com.

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U.S. Sen Angus King

THE UNTOLD STORY OF RECORD HILL WIND

The Untold Story of Record Hill Wind, continued

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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