My comments on the Castine 1/8 scale test turbine and DOE repot submitted for the Aqua Ventus wind project

The Castine 1/8th-scale Turbine study                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               This study is just another study in a long line of wind energy research performances. This so called test turbine, at 20 kW is claimed to be a 1/8th-scale wind turbine.  

Here is reality. In every wind turbine impact study, the number one concern is the rotor sweep because this is what is killing bird and bat species.  This pip-squeak test turbine, having a hub height of about 41 feet from the waterline and a rotor diameter of about 32 feet (blades about 4.8 meters long) is not even close to being 1/8 scale turbine,   A 6mw turbine with a 150-meter diameter rotor, has a square ft rotor sweep 225 times greater and calculated in cubic meters,  a 6mw turbine has about 1150 times the bird killing sweep of the 1/8 scale test 20w test turbine.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           If all turbines in America were just 20kw,  very few if any eagles would be killed by wind energy and the Interior Department would not have to hide the thousands eagle carcasses being secretly shipped to the Denver Eagle Repository.                                                                                                                                  

 I also could not help but notice that the UMaine used Web camera surveillance of the turbine. If the industry had done this with their post operational mortality studies, the public would know that over 20 million birds each year are being killed by wind energy.   But this web cam stunt is also not what it seems because recording images every 15-30 seconds leaves gaps and golden opportunities to filter the truth from the data. All web recording should have been continuous

In this US Department of Energy Office report ………”SUPPLEMENT ANALYSIS 2 FOR THE SUPPLEMENTAL ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT/FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF MAINE’S DEEPWATER OFFSHORE FLOATING WIND TURBINE TESTING AND DEMONSTRATION PROJECT” this  statement was made:                                                                                                                                                                                    

 

4.0 Conclusions and Determination…………..These findings are not true and for the reasons stated above, new credible research is needed

The potential impacts associated with the modified Proposed Action were evaluated and found to be similar to those identified for the Proposed Action in DOE/EA-1792-S1. DOE has therefore determined that the modified Proposed Action would not constitute a substantial change in actions and would not present any new circumstances or information relevant to the environmental concerns and bearing on the previously analyzed action or impacts, within the meaning of 40 CFR 1502.9(c) and 10 CFR

This is a false statement and my comments prove that there are very significant new circumstances or information relevant to environmental concerns.  NEW research around Monhegan Island absolutely needs to be conducted by credible experts.                                                                                                                                    

(a) DOE shall prepare a supplemental EIS if there are substantial changes to the proposal or significant new circumstances or information relevant to environmental concerns, as discussed in 40 CFR 1502.9(c)(1).

I also noticed this important information given below from the SUPPLEMENT ANALYSIS 2. I found it to be very disturbing, substandard and completely unreliable.   It should not be accepted as being credible.   In the table shown there are an incredible number of unidentified species listed as being potentially threatened, endangered or of special concern. Accepting this uncertainty would be a disgrace.  

                                                                                          

These boat surveys need to be dismissed because of the uncertainty given by the observers. New surveys desperately need to be conducted by real experts familiar with these species. I can’t imagine seeing 10 hawks in the field and not knowing the species.                             

As I have shown in these comments,  the avian and bat studies conducted for the Aqua Ventus wind project are misleading, inaccurate and most of all, they do not comply with scientific standards. They are therefore not in compliance with NEPA (42 U.S. Code 4321, et seq.) and DOE’s NEPA regulations (10 CFR 1021.330) and procedures, the purpose of this SA is to examine the potential environmental impacts.                 

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Comment by Jim Wiegand on February 22, 2018 at 2:23pm

Here is a little more insight into the stupid little 20 kW test turbine and a comparison to the huge 6MW turbine planned the Aqua Ventus wind project. While the huge turbine may have 1150 times the cubic rotor sweep, the amount of killing rotor sweep is far greater.    The huge 6 MW turbine with the slower RPMs has a muchlarger killing areabecause birds can see past and through the spinning blades.  With the small turbine birds will be clipped primarily on the outer edges of the blades. Birds will avoid most of center regions of te tiny turbine's rotor sweep because spinning at 100 RPMs,  the sight plane is obstructed by the blur of the spinning blades. With the big turbines traveling at great speed but only rotating at about 12-18 RPMs over 50% of the blade length contributes to deadly sweep because birds are fooled and will try to fly through the rotation gaps.  The industry has known all this for over 20 years but has covered it up because in their minds they need to sell their bigger turbines to America.   So in reality when talking about deadly bird killing rotor sweep , the huge 6MW turbine planned for Monhegan Island, easily has several thousand times more deadly sweep than the stupid little UMaine 20 kW test turbine.

Comment by Long Islander on February 22, 2018 at 1:47am

"Later after the turbines go up they when asked how the turbines are so loud they just admit the "mistake"  

Sounds like "better to beg forgiveness than ask for permission" and "possession is 90% of the law". It's high time some of these shysters start going to jail.

Comment by Frank Haggerty on February 21, 2018 at 9:12pm

  A word to the wise. In most of the Massachusetts wind turbine studies done to install wind turbines you have to look for what they do not put in the reports -not actually what is in them.

An example is 100 homes may be affected by noise - In Massachusetts this was what was in the Falmouth wind turbine study. The study before the Falmouth study they warned of two distinct types of noise "measured in decibels" and "human annoyance."  They were not successful with warning about two distinct types of noise so they just changed it to how many houses will be affected by noise. 

  The other issue is the preliminary tests always show everything is OK --Later after the turbines go up they when asked how the turbines are so loud they just admit the "mistake" 

Look for what is not in the studies -Look at studies back around 2003 to 2005 

 

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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