LD 1750 being discussed at the EUT committee today !!! THE FUTURE OF MAINE WIND PERMITTING.
Listen today LIVE at EUT work session discussion on LD 1750, An Act to "amend the administrative procedure and to clarify Maine wind energy law".
The EUT committee can postpone, table, adjourn - but the fight never stops and more and more people are aware of the game this committee has been playing ignoring the grievances of Maine citizens regarding industrial wind power and failing to answer specific questions concerning the false premises and promises of wind power.
This despicable bill proposed by Senator Alfond and his cronies in the wind industry would push ahead wind projects with minimal scrutiny.
The bill requires that "all agencies may only consider the testimonies of qualified experts, data gathered by objective and reliable means, and testimony and other evidence supported by independent confirmation of reliability". In other words muzzle the public - preventing the DEP from hearing the testimony of regular citizens, and relying solely on the "experts" representing the wind industry.
When LD 2283, the infamous "Wind Act", was passed in February 2008, the public had the right to appeal both to the DEP and the Law Court and appeal they did. Outraged citizens have appealed almost every wind project permit. This has delayed wind projects and stymied the industry, which thought LD 2283 had skids where greased for rapid deployment of turbines throughout the "expedited permit area".
In March 2009 a bill called LD 199 "An Act to Facilitate Wind Power" was proposed. Wind power was already Expedited through LD 2283 but "expedited" was not enough for the wind industry - they needed to be "facilitated" as well! LD 199 sought to remove the right towns to self determination. Town plans, zoning ordinances and the ability to vote on wind projects were outlawed for wind projects! Homerule, the cornerstone of New England democracy, was under attack by the wind industry. The DEP and the Maine Municipal Association testified against it. Citizens from all over the state turned out in force, and the bill was killed in committee.
Now the wind industry and their favorite politicians are taking another approach to facilitate wind power : LD 1750!!!
Please email, and/or call the EUT committee members and oppose that bill.
Monique
LISTEN LIVE AT 1:30 pm, LIKE ALWAYS THIS BILL COULD BE DEBATED MUCH LATER IN THE AFTERNOON
Views: 220
Comment
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Comment by Mike DiCenso on March 20, 2014 at 12:08am
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The Natural Resources Committee or Tourism should be involved. Leaving anything up to the EUT is not the answer.
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Comment by Martha thacker on March 19, 2014 at 12:46pm
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Looks like this bill was written by and for the wind industry...from the 2008 First Wind SEC report under risk factors.
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Negative public or community response to wind energy projects may adversely affect our ability to construct our projects in certain areas. In addition, legal challenges may result in an injunction against construction or operation, impeding our ability to place projects in operation according to schedule, meet our development and construction targets or generate revenues. Some of our wind energy projects are the subject of administrative and legal challenges from groups opposed to wind energy projects in general or groups concerned with potential environmental impacts or perceived impacts on property values. We expect such opposition and challenges to continue as we progress with development and construction of our existing projects and to increase as the number of projects we have in development and under construction increases. An increase in opposition to the granting of permits or unfavorable outcomes of such challenges could materially and adversely affect our development plans. If we are unable to complete our development projects or are unable to obtain necessary permits or are unable to enter into PPAs, access transmission lines with available capacity, secure turbines or obtain financing necessary to complete our development projects, we may not be able to install the MW of operating capacity that we currently anticipate from our development projects. A failure to install the MW of capacity that we target in our anticipated time frame could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations."
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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