Citizens' Task Force on Wind Power - Maine

Opinion: "Doing Wind Right” Forum (from Maine Environmental News)

3/31/11

Opinion: "Doing Wind Right” Forum

Opinion: "Doing Wind Right” Forum
By Susan Davis

A standing-room-only crowd filled the Field’s Pond Audobon Center in Holden, seven miles southeast of Bangor, to listen to four panelists address the question, “How might Maine develop land-based wind power as a renewable energy source while protecting ecological health and natural heritage?”

The very fact that this question was asked is significant. The Wind Power/Energy discussion has clearly matured way beyond the tacit acceptance of the inevitable as set up by Governor John Baldacci’s special Task Force on Wind in 2008. In fact, many present in the audience, overwhelmingly and palpably anti-wind, felt that the question was not the right one at all, that in fact we should ask, “Why Wind Power At All!” The event was covered by MPBN's Maine Watch TV program out of Bangor, another sign of the interest in this subject.

Maine Audubon and the Appalachian Mountain Club, Maine Chapter, co-sponsored the forum with a panel of speakers representing environmental groups and the wind industry. Sally Stockwell, Maine Audubon Director of Conservation, David Publicover, Appalachian Mountain Club’s Senior Staff Scientist and wind power expert, Bob Kimber, Maine author and conservationist and Neil Kiely from FirstWind, a developer of Maine wind farms, were the panelists. The moderator was Maine State Representative Bob Duchesne, Ranking Minority Member of the legislature’s Environment and Natural Resources Committee.

After FirstWind’s presentation of the rationale and the developer’s science for doing wind energy, David Publicover of the AMC surprised some by acknowledging that the ecological and scenic concerns had not been properly considered. Of all the wind sites in Maine, only Stetson came close to having the least impact of all the proposed sites when primary criteria were considered. He wondered how many Stetsons might be out there, suggesting “not too many.” He also referred to the inherent imbalance caused by the two-tiered system of organized towns and unorganized townships, that sporting camps were an example of important cultural and scenic issues that fell through the cracks of the legislation. The special status these camps normally receive had been overlooked, something Publicover acknowledged needed to be corrected.

Sally Stockwell noted that the five criteria that governed the selection of sites might need a sixth, accounting for the cumulative stressors on wildlife that any combination of the other five criteria might precipitate. Both Stockwell and Publicover indicated that they had publicly opposed the expansion of Kibby, for example, because the siting failed on several counts previously agreed upon by the developers.

Bob Kimber represented the opposition elegantly and professionally. “Huge wind power should be abandoned,” he contended, moving instead to power developed closer to the user. He and others in questions and comments at the end noted that Maine is only producing electricity to export, not for use at home. Bob noted that the utility industry’s top lobbyist stated boldly, utilities can’t make money except by generating a lot of electricity in one place and transmitting it to the end user.

The audience struggled at times to remain civil, their distrust and dislike of the wind industry simmering beneath the surface as they asked their questions. It was very clear that of the many who asked questions, all were knowledgeable and well-read on the subject. Rebecca Holberton of the University of Maine noted that the environmental assessment here is totally inadequate, that there are no standards and there is no oversight of these developments, something none could dispute.

Bob Duchesne was a masterful moderator. Knowing that the AMC and Audubon had both participated in the task force, he asked the final question himself, “What would you have done differently?” Stockwell responded that the expedited process needed to be revisited. Kimber answered that the cultural implications needed to be considered from the start. Kiely referred to Vermont’s method of holding educational forums throughout the state and then conducting a statewide poll, noting of course that Vermont scored wind best. Publicover was concerned that the public was left out of the debate entirely.

Susan Davis is executive director of Friends of Maine Mountains.

http://www.friendsofmainesmountains.com/blog

Posted on Thursday, March 31, 2011 (Archive on Thursday, April 21, 2011)
Posted by Jym St. Pierre Contributed by

http://www.maineenvironews.com/Home/tabid/97/mid/628/newsid628/1233...

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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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