Comment

Comment by Eric A. Tuttle on November 21, 2014 at 7:30pm

Long Term objectives for Emera on the Northeast Energy link

http://www.northeastenergylink.com/files/documents/nel_loi.pdf written in 2012

It mentions the Wind Power objectives of both land based and offshore pg. 2-1

Comment by Martha thacker on November 21, 2014 at 6:22pm

I have read that Emera , formerly Bangor Hydro and Central Maine Power agreed to pay for the 1.4 billion dollars for transmission lines. Sorry, can't provide a link. Did not read that the customers would be paying it for them. Wonder if Emera is off the hook for paying for transmission lines ...and when will the customers of those two corporations either see   the transmission lines built  or get a refund. I use Eastern Maine Electric, and if anything my rates have come down. Don't think deregulation meant rate payers are liable for their power company's folly. The Expedited Wind Law was rushed through due to an emergency. There was no hearing for Stetson II as it is Unorganized Territory. Doesn't seem to be much of a rush on building power lines. Esp. in light of the fact that the grid was at capacity when Stetson I was built and the turbines last 20 years or less. Stetson I had their grand opening in Dec. 2008.

Comment by Barbara Durkin on November 21, 2014 at 10:22am

A "former" examiner at the Federal Reserve Bank wanted to "get tough" on Goldman Sachs, exclusive financial advisor to First Wind, during September of 2014, but was suppressed by her supervisors.  And now, the Fed will review its oversight of Wall Street's big banks, along with the Fed's Inspector General.  

Wall Street Journal 'Fed to Review Its Oversight Of Wall Street's Big Banks' 11/23 (page 1., print version)

[clips]

"New York Fed President William Dudley is set to testify before a Senate committee Friday on “regulatory capture,” a term for regulators that are too cozy with firms they oversee." Maxppp/Zuma Press

The New York Fed said in a statement: “As soon as we learned that Goldman Sachs suspected one of its employees may have inappropriately obtained confidential supervisory information, we alerted law enforcement authorities.”

The New York Fed said it has been “working with law enforcement authorities since then. Because any public statement about the investigation could be prejudicial to a potential future criminal case, we are unable to comment on the specific facts that are under investigation.”

Goldman said it was assisting in the investigations. An attorney for Mr. Bansal declined to comment.

Source, today's WSJ: http://online.wsj.com/articles/fed-launches-review-of-practices-for...

Some of the more insightful comments-

"I think the author of this piece should have mentioned that prior to becoming president of the New York Fed, William Dudley was an investment banker at Goldman Sachs..."

"People who are worried that the Fed is too cozy with the banks should look at the structure of the Fed.  Contrary to popular opinion, the Fed isn't part of the government; it's owned by the banks."

"The fox is guarding the hen house."

Comment by Eric A. Tuttle on November 20, 2014 at 6:44pm

Solar Tax on those off the grid or assisted systems.
http://www.alternet.org/environment/walmart-heirs-using-their-fortu...
Solar Farm coming to Maine in the shadows of the Turbines on tree barren lands?
http://news.mpbn.net/post/first-wind-deal-expected-open-new-markets...
Will Maine residents eventually taxed for their investments in home solar, wind, GeoThermal systems under a "No-Compete" law? Will burning wood be seen as competition to fossil fuels and be taxed also? We pay through Tax Credits, then the wish to have us taxed again because we do not buy their product. WTF?

Comment by Whetstone_Willy on November 20, 2014 at 5:40pm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confidence_trick

Vulnerability to confidence tricks

Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of confidence trick.^[6]

Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past.

Comment by Barbara Durkin on November 19, 2014 at 11:44am

Wind energy is the "stalking horse" for the oil, gas, and minerals rights companies.  It's cradle is ENRON.

DeepWATER WIND Board of managers

Michael Alvarez

http://dwwind.com/about/board-of-directors

is, here, President of Kenetech Energy Systems (that formed EcoElectrica) . 

http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/807708/0000807708-98-000020.txt

  
EcoElectrica is a Bermuda limited partnership formed by affliates of KENETECH Energy Systems, Inc. (KES) and Enron Development Corporation (Enron).  EcoElectrica’s general partners are KES Bermuda, Inc., and Buenergia, B.V., each which holds one percent interest.  Ecoelectric’s limited partners are KES Puerto Rico, L.P. and Buenergia Enron de Puerto Rico, C.V., which are both indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries of KENETECH Corp., which also owns KES.  Buenergia B.V. and Buenergia Enron de Puerto Rico, C.V. are both indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries of Enron Corporation, the Parent Company of Enron Development Corporation. 

http://www.fossil.energy.gov/programs/gasregulation/authorizations/...

EcoEléctrica to construct an LNG pipeline FERC 2014

 http://www.ferc.gov/whats-new/comm-meet/2014/061914/C-3.pdf

• ·  EDISON MISSION ENERGY - Edgar-online

sec.edgar-online.com/edison-mission.../s-4a.../section38.aspx

Sep 27, 2001 - ... (i) sale and purchase of KES Puerto Rico, L.P.'s shares in EcoElectrica ... between MEC International B.V. and UPC International Partnership ...

The lessons of ENRON ignored are being repeated.  The irony is that First Wind Director Patrick Wood 111 was the FERC Chairman who failed to rein Enron in to protect the public interest.

Here's the playbook..where history repeats-where First Wind Director Patrick Wood III was "ASLEEP AT THE SWITCH...":

US Senate Government Affairs November 12, 2002 ASLEEP AT THE SWITCH: FERC'S OVERSIGHT OF ENRON CORPORATION--VOL. I

107th Congress transcript states-

 

Senator Levin: “The Enron scandal began by exposing dishonest accounting at a number of major U.S. companies that, unbeknownst to most, had begun to eat away at the reliability of their financial statements. It has since exposed the conflicts of interest that have made investors distrust investment reports issued by leading U.S. financial firms. It has exposed how those firms have become unwilling participants in shell companies, phony trade deals, and complex financial transactions used to inflate earnings, hide debt, and increase stock prices..”

Levin: “corporate executives have walked away from corporate disasters with millions in their pockets, often from exercising stock options, while pension funds, investors, employees and creditors have lost everything.”

[cut]. http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CHRG-107shrg83483/html/CHRG-107shrg834...

Patrick Wood III, who was “Asleep at the switch” as FERC Chair in 2002, appears to be capitalizing on his failure to address the greatest corporate fraud case in US history ten years later.  The incubator for renewable energy in the United States is Massachusetts where Patrick Wood III serves as Director of First Wind whose CEO is Paul Gaynor.  First Wind Gaynor is MA Deval Patrick’s appointed Advisor on green energy policy.

Comment by Kathy Sherman on November 19, 2014 at 1:24am

I still say the story should be why Emera dumps First Wind for HIGHER VALUE ASSETs; the new "junk-co" financing (low cost financing of renewables because the investors just want the tax-equity); the American banks that put this deal together; off to sunny Italy for First Wind and hoping Maine PUC will take a really hard look at the implications for First Wind projects and proposals in Maine, as the firm continues to go on rampant expansion based on capital infusions and longterm contracts. What happens when the projects have lost their tax shelter value? Hope Maine DEP will take a hard look too. Yes, the Enron analogy is fair, even without employment history, and so were born the rolling blackouts for ISO-NE that California suffered.

Comment by Jim Wiegand on November 18, 2014 at 8:58pm

On a similar note this story hit the AP wires today........."Wind firm sues to block bird-death data release"                           The company suing is Pacificorp of Portland. Pacificorp of Portland is a unit of Berkshire Hathaway's MidAmerican Energy Holdings.  Warren Buffet is the major shareholder of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Berkshire Hathaway Inc. owning 26,675,175 shares.

Comment by Mike DiCenso on November 18, 2014 at 8:53pm

After all the financial follies are over it will be too expensive for anyone to take these scoundrels to court. It would take lawyers years to unravel the shell games and legal entanglements. Just like when Enron fizzled.

Comment by Kathy Sherman on November 18, 2014 at 12:26pm

I think it is more relevant where SunEd is based, but either will serve to expand their market into other high RPS states mandating long-term contracts. This deal sort of marries the PMJ grid where there are some less restricted opportunities in Illinois and Ohio in large agricultural parcels (whether they have economic wind spee ds or are already infringing into more populous counties or have the same transmission constraints are all other matters) with the ISO-NE states. But Emera is saying it best and clearly - more valuable assets - dealing with the need for reliable natural-gas generation of electricity and transmission. The shareholders who are so excited about this deal would do well to read Emera's statements as well as scutinizing the 'success' of any First Wind project. Sheffield VT was raised in comments on Bloomberg, but lets put out the track record and help by translating the various names - It starts in Maine with Mars Hill, right? I can't keep track of BlueSkies, Evergreen, etc., but I hope someone does. And why doesn't Terraform just stick with the more lucrative solar market?
This indicates that besides the much needed cash bailout, First Wind hopes to go international with this deal (good luck and good riddance), but only a minor portion of the deal is married to project completion. Still, it seems that all permits and contracts contingent on financial security should be re-evaluated by the regulatory agencies involved.
http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2014-11-17/sunedison-and-terraform...

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