LUPC denies NextEra petition to expand EWA
Yesterday, the Land Use Planning Commission voted unanimously to deny NextEra's request to expand the expedited wind area by 25000 acres to accommodate their proposed industrial wind farms (Moose and Alder Stream Wind) in western Somerset and Franklin counties. The denial is a huge setback for NextEra's bid for a 20 year renewable energy contract with MA as part of their MA Clean Energy RFP. NextEra will have to go through the legislature to get the EWA expansion. Given the solid opposition to the projects by the Somerset and Piscataquis County Commissioners and the regional legislative delegation (Sen. Davis, Rep.Sterans, Rep. Stetkis, Rep. Grignon) it may not be an easy time for the developer in Augusta.
The denial also puts a huge hole in CMP's bid to MA for the Maine Clean Power Connection transmission corridor. Without NextEra's output, the line would face difficult economics and most likely kill their hopes of being selected in the MA RFP process.
Resistance to these projects has ramifications throughout the region. The Moosehead Region Futures Committee (MRFC) along with the county commissioners and legislative delegation has proven to be an effective deterrent to the steamrolling wind industry and their cohorts. Opposition to NRG's Somerset Wind project on the western side of Moosehead is continuing to fight the fight and demonstrating positive results in consolidating local opposition to the project. In addition, MRFC has stepped forward on CMP's NECEC transmission corridor with their request for public hearings. MRFC has been joined by NRCM, Sierra Club and the Maine Appalachian Trail Club in the DEP permit review process. The decision as to whether to intervene is in the works with both groups.
So opposition to industrial wind in Maine is alive and successfully pushing back the industry and their many friends in Augusta. With 3500 megawatts in the queue for Maine wind development at ISO New England, we still have a great deal of work to do. But yesterday was a win for the bad actors (according to Patrick Woodcock). Let's build on this win and renew our commitment to fighting the scourge of industrial wind in Maine. Merry Christmas!!!
Views: 500
Comment
-
Comment by Dan McKay on December 20, 2017 at 4:34pm
-
Let's see if they exercise their right to appeal the decision, will tell a lot.
-
Comment by Richard McDonald/Saving Maine on December 20, 2017 at 4:26pm
-
Without battery storage and bridal path transmission corridors to connect the projects to merge for interconnection it may be very difficult to make these projects economically viable. It will delay them as well which we all know is deadly for these projects. Especially when they are competing in the MA RFP process.
-
-
Excellent!!!!!! I could not imagine the ruination that would occur had this decision gone the other way. But honestly, we must stay vigilant to make sure to never happens.
Dudley Gray
-
Comment by Gary Campbell on December 20, 2017 at 4:17pm
-
Outstanding. Although the decision doesn't mean they can't build the project, it does force them to satisfy the same standards that non-wind developers must adhere to. In other words, they will have to play on a level playing field. And we all know that wind fails without the unfair advantages written into the Wind Energy Act.
-
-
The thanks goes to the LUPC staff that made the right call. All folks did was lobby for the staff's position to carry the day. Friends of Boundary Mountains weighed-in at the hearing. They deserve a lot of credit.
-
-
Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Richard McDonald. This is great news!
-
-
A big step in reversing the curse of the wind energy act. Congratulations, Mr. McDonald and friends.
- ‹ Previous
- 1
- 2
- Next ›
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/
Not yet a member?
Sign up today and lend your voice and presence to the steadily rising tide that will soon sweep the scourge of useless and wretched turbines from our beloved Maine countryside. For many of us, our little pieces of paradise have been hard won. Did the carpetbaggers think they could simply steal them from us?
We have the facts on our side. We have the truth on our side. All we need now is YOU.
“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”
-- Mahatma Gandhi
"It's not whether you get knocked down: it's whether you get up."
Vince Lombardi
Task Force membership is free. Please sign up today!
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/
© 2025 Created by Webmaster.
Powered by
You need to be a member of Citizens' Task Force on Wind Power - Maine to add comments!
Join Citizens' Task Force on Wind Power - Maine