Fort Fairfield Enacts a Protective Wind Ordinance

Comment

Comment by Eric A. Tuttle on September 19, 2015 at 5:30pm

Sounds like forced corporate segregation by creating an undesirable or unsuitable environment. If you don't like your neighbors make their lives unbearable in hopes they will move mentality. A bit more covert maybe, but a possible means to an end. Vacating the land for something yet worse to come. 

Comment by Barbara Durkin on September 19, 2015 at 11:13am

Penny Gray,  You note, "enacted protective ordinances for their citizens will see an influx of people moving into their area to escape towns that welcomed the wind development..." 

An exodus from towns and provinces that favor wind over people and wildlife is also happening.  

Esther Wrightman, who took a video of an eagles nest being destroyed by NextEra contractors to allow wind developers to destroy habitat to save it, has left Ontario.  

"Wrightman says she’s glad to be out of Ontario, where NextEra, Suncor, and a number of other companies are pushing for additional wind projects and the generous subsidies they will collect from them. She likes being in New Brunswick, because the province “is essentially broke and can’t throw money at such fanciful ideas as wind turbines when they have cheap power readily available.” She continued, saying, “Everywhere we looked in rural Ontario there was threat of wind developments — it’s not like we could just move over to the next township or county because they were going up there too, or are proposed to go up there in the future.”

Read more at: http://www.nationalreview.com/article/421067/big-wind-still-slappin...

Comment by arthur qwenk on September 19, 2015 at 10:01am

Liars , Deceivers, Snake Oil Salesmen and the deceptive business practices of the Wind Industry will haunt this low feeding subsidy scam in Maine from now on.

The facts are being synthesized by  Mainers from earlier failed projects in the state.

After the facts are known , the answer to the " industry" is simple, JUST SAY "NO", loudly and forcefully.

Reduced property value, Noise impacts well beyond 1 mile, loss of scenic and recreational potential to the area and the  graft and municipal  manipulation and strife are not worth the payoffs wind offers to certain land owners and the public in general wherever these subsidy manipulators go.

Kill PL-661(the Expedited Wind Law of 2008) , and "Ordinance up" all affected  Maine municipalities  before the sole of the state, its recreational uniqueness from its mountains, highlands and lakes are lost forever. 

Well done Fort Fairfield!

Wind is a feckless  useless farce of an industry whose time has past!

Are you still a believer in wind?  See the below to become more educated on the issue: 

http://www.windtaskforce.org/page/20-facts-wind-power

Comment by Eric A. Tuttle on September 19, 2015 at 9:24am

Bravo on the setback. It is more protective vs less protective. A citizens choice made now, that can should they choose, allow a lesser restriction later.  Though if done, that protection may be lost forever. Though a prohibition, that does not serve the community directly to its satisfaction would have been more in order, such as 50% rates, and 100% of the related jobs be from the community, with the corporation burdening the expense of finding and educating to qualification level, from the local pool, or neighboring communities. Other corporations around the world provide such funding of education to qualification, to retain happy local employees. This should be a mandate for all current corporations holding wind farms within Maine. To often our youth and others that want to work, but can not afford the education required. Though almost all companies now require a minimum of a GED, and are willing pay, some now and more frequently require an associates in the field of their work. 

Comment by Peter Beckford on September 19, 2015 at 8:59am

Congrats Fort Fairfield activists!!!!!!!! And kudos to a town government that represents its residents!!!!!!!

We're all better off thanks to you.

Comment by Barbara Durkin on September 19, 2015 at 8:38am

Town Council of Fort Fairfield has made a compassionate and well informed decision to put citizens before wind developers.  Short of a moratorium, (optimum), this setback of one mile is prudent. 

A clip from Christine Lakatos' Green Corruption Files provides the only motives driving wind developers, including EDP Renewables AKA Horizon Wind....public subsidies, green graft,  stimulus and greed that create green jobs overseas. 

"I won't reiterate, but it can be found in my 2010 blog, Green Corruption: The Plot Thickens, yet worth repeating are some other Goldman Sachs' firms and projects that received "green dollars" that I found when I took a brief look. 

1. One of the early investments reported by Matt Taibbi in his July 2009 Rolling Stone Magazine article –– The Great American Bubble Machine, warning that Goldman Sachs is "helping create the next bubble, 'global warming' –– was Horizon Wind Energy. Back in 2010 Horizon was still on the Goldman Sachs Environmental Markets portfolio, but reported as owned by Portuguese EDP Renewables. Still, it turns out that they won a $229.8 million grant from the "green stimulus package," as reported by GreenTechnology.Daily.com in December 2009, pointing out that it was one of the "top grant recipients." The article also notes, "European companies have scooped up the majority of U.S. stimulus money set aside for wind power projects."

Comment by Penny Gray on September 19, 2015 at 8:28am

Interesting that some are disappointed in the loss of possible revenue, but in the end I think these towns that have enacted protective ordinances for their citizens will see an influx of people moving into their area to escape towns that welcomed the wind development as the cure-all for their financial woes.