Freemont Tibbetts flies over Maine's mountains filming present and planned wind turbine blight

Tibbetts shows mountains before, after wind-turbine construction

By Eileen M. Adams, Staff Writer
Published Oct 27, 2010 12:00 am | Last updated Oct 27, 2010 12:01 am
Freemont Tibbetts, a Dixfield resident who made two films showing completed and proposed wind projects, narrated one live during Tuesday's unveiling of the film, and the second while he was filming it from the air. About 20 people turned out to see his work at Dirigo High School.
DIXFIELD — Freemont Tibbetts unveiled two films he has taken from above several mountain ranges that showed not only his disdain for constructing wind turbines on them, but also his love for the beauty of the state of Maine.
Tibbetts, 79, a fifth-generation resident of Dixfield, hopes to show the films to as many people as possible.
“It's great to see the mountains before they put the damn windmills up,” he said as he narrated the film of his flight about two weeks ago over what he called the loop of planned wind projects in Rumford, Roxbury, Carthage, Dixfield, Canton and Woodstock.
About 100 turbines in six separate projects are in various stages of planning in the six towns, with all but Rumford's and Roxbury's proposed by Patriot Renewables LLC of Quincy, Mass. Rumford's project is proposed by First Wind LLC of Boston, and Roxbury's by Independent Wind LLC.
Nearly 20 people from several of the towns involved attended the showing.
The film of the Rumford loop described projects that would top Saddleback ridge in Carthage, cross Route 2 to Colonel Holman Mountain ridge in Dixfield, then continue on to Canton Mountain and end on the Spruce Mountain ridge in Woodstock.
Tibbetts hired Rumford pilot Phil Zinck to fly him above the Rumford loop, then a few days later, over the already completed Kibby Mountain project built by TransCanada in Franklin County, and another proposed project in the Highland Plantation area just east of Kibby Mountain in neighboring Somerset County.
Tibbetts said he could feel the vibrations of the turbines on Kibby Mountain, describing how portions of mountaintops are blasted, then rods inserted into the earth to provide stability for the nearly 400-foot tall turbines.
“It's some beautiful up there,” he said.
The flight route included views of Flagstaff Lake, a multitude of small ponds, some of which Tibbetts said he has fished, and places he has logged. There were distant and close-up views of the turbines along the mountain ridge at the Kibby Mountain project.
“When hikers climbing the Appalachian Trail reach Mt. Katahdin (which could be seen in the distance), all they'll see is these red lights from the wind mills,” he said.
Dan McKay said DVDs of the two flights are being distributed, including in Dixfield stores, and he and Tibbetts are looking for other venues to show the films.
Dixfield residents will decide at the Nov. 2 election whether to approve zoning which would basically ban wind projects. Rumford residents will also vote Nov. 2 on an ordinance that would also ban such projects, if passed.
His opposition to the area projects won't end at the November election, Tibbetts said.
“It's going to be a long fight. It will be a struggle,” he said.
He acknowledged that many people have seen turbines and think they are magnificent.
Patriot Renewables will present its plans for the Dixfield project at a public informational meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday at Ludden Memorial Library.

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Comment by alice mckay barnett on October 29, 2010 at 9:11pm
tuesday???what then?
Comment by Lisa Lindsay on October 27, 2010 at 9:03am
God bless Freemont. Any plans to upload to YouTube as was done with the Jackson video, etc? Would love to send it around and post to Facebook.
Comment by Long Islander on October 27, 2010 at 8:37am


"When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it".
- Henry Ford
Comment by Tom Olds on October 27, 2010 at 5:35am
Wonderful job Freemont. These videos are priceless. Other than drive to Dixfield, how can I get copies.

Tom

 

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Maine Center For Public Interest Reporting – Three Part Series: A CRITICAL LOOK AT MAINE’S WIND ACT

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(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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