Maine Gov's Bill Would Change State's Windpower Goals

Maine Gov's Bill Would Change State's Windpower Goals

03/06/2014   Reported By: Jennifer Mitchell

EXCERPTS:

But worse, he says, is that even if the state manages to make that 2,000-megawatt goal in the next eight months, he and the bill's supporters doubt that the actual benefit - through electric rates or business development - would have been worth the destruction to Maine's mountain tops. 

Where, he asks, are the wind turbine manufacturing plants? And why have Mainers not seen their power bills slashed? It's a question of cost-benefit, adds Patrick Woodcock, director of the Governor's Energy Office. Woodcock says the new bill, LD 1791, takes the focus away from wind power quantity and asks more questions about quality:

"During a permitting process, a developer will say: "This will help meet our wind energy goal. We're adding megawatts to the state of Maine.' Well, this would say, 'Are you lowering electrical rates? And are you expanding economic opportunities?'" Woodcock said.

...The bill is set to to be taken up in a work session Friday. 

http://www.mpbn.net/Home/tabid/36/ctl/ViewItem/mid/5347/ItemId/3258...

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Comment by Whetstone_Willy on March 7, 2014 at 10:02am

Jim Mogg (First Wind and Duke Energy)

Jim Mogg

Jim W. Mogg currently serves as non-executive Chairman of the Board of First Wind Holdings, Inc. and as a member of the board of directors, the compensation committee, and corporate governance committee at both Oneok, Inc. and Bill Barrett Corporation.

From 2004 -2006 he served as group Vice President and Chief Development Officer of Duke Energy Corporation and was a member of the six-person executive committee.  From 2000 – 2004, he served as Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Duke Energy Field Services.  Also, from 2000 – 2005, Mr. Mogg was Vice Chairman/Chairman of TEPPCO Partners and from 2005 – 2007 he was Chairman of DCP Midstream Partners Services.  Prior to that time, Mr. Mogg serves various executive and senior management positions at Duke Energy and PanEnergy.  He started his career with Panhandle Eastern Pipe Line Company in 1973 as a Clerk A.

Mr. Mogg graduated from Hydro High School in 1967 and received a B.S. Southwestern Oklahoma State University in 1971.  He also completed Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School in 1992.  In 1999, Mr. Mogg received the Distinguished Alumni Award from SWOSU.  He has served on the Foundation Board of Trustees since 2006. 

He and his wife, Freda were married in 1972 and they have two daughters, Amy and Sarah. They currently reside in Evergreen, Colorado and split their time in Hydro, Oklahoma and Evergreen, Colorado.

http://www.swosu.edu/alum-foun/foundation/bios/jim-mogg.aspx

Comment by Martha thacker on March 7, 2014 at 9:06am

The first lawsuit that First Wind lost was to Duke Energy out of NC.Duke Energy recently was responsible for a coal ash spill that goes into many part of NC and makes the water toxic..from Cochoctonwindwatch

"

Duke energy poisons water and kills eagles... Duke Energy agreed to pay $1 million in fines in the first criminal case brought against a wind company over the killings of federally protected birds, 14 golden eagles and 149 other protected birds slain at two wind projects in Wyoming. Robert G. Dreher, an acting assistant U.S. attorney general, explained the violation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act: "In this plea agreement, Duke Energy Renewables acknowledges that it constructed these wind projects in a manner it knew beforehand would likely result in avian deaths."
This is how they won the lawsuit. SEC reports have a certain veracity that press releases don't. 2010 SEC report which showed First Wind knew they were breaking the law.Always under risk factors " If we fail to comply with our permits, we may be required to pay fines or curtail production at our facilities. Violations of environmental laws in certain jurisdictions, including with respect to certain violations of laws protecting migratory birds and endangered species, may also result in criminal penalties."

U.S. Sen Angus King

THE UNTOLD STORY OF RECORD HILL WIND

The Untold Story of Record Hill Wind, continued

 

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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