Comment

Comment by Penny Melko on January 30, 2012 at 10:21pm

I live in the Tehachapi Pass. I sent this out on another post. You should all be aware of how the wind company investors aquire land. If you read the paragraph under "investment approach" it will tie to Barcly Natural Resource Investments funding this company to aquire land.  http://www.americanwindcapital.com/

Barclay Bank is the primary bank.

Barclays Natural Resource Investments. Global private equity business with a focus on Upstream Oil & Gas, Upstream Mining, and Power & Renewables.

Investment Approach

   BNRI invests in growth equity as an active investor. These investments are made through identifying experienced entrepreneurs and proven management teams and, together with them, forming a new portfolio company. Barclays Natural Resource Investments finances the internal growth and acquisitions/development of businesses and assets through this company. …the main sources of growth often come from identifying acquisition and development opportunities that are undervalued or not suited to current owners. Source: http://www.bnri.com/index.html

If you follow the money trail in your regional area, you'll find that some wind farms are being bought by private hedge fund companies, in turn, owned by the same banks that brought on the housing crash, the same recession/depression that we're all still living in. These nutbars are starting another bubble off the the backs of us land owners, permanently defacing the landscape and killing everything in their path, without one ounce of conscience, and further, have no regard about creating another crash, possibly worse than this one! 

Comment by Whetstone_Willy on January 30, 2012 at 4:52pm

In the March 20, 2010 Press-Herald a Gardiner Parker of Woolwich wrote a letter to the editor criticizing an 80 year old campowner on Caribou Pond (who built the camp herself 30 years ago) for being an out of stater not concerned about jobs, because she complained about the giant turbines that would shadow her little corner of paradise. The entire tone of his letter bashed tourists. He wrote "Well, while they're enjoying the view, the rest of us have to work to put food on the table and support our families and wind power projects create hundreds of jobs and millions in economic spinoff". He also wrote: "...unlike Ms. Mitchell, we don't have two homes – we live here all the time – and we can't afford to live here without economic development and sustainable, low-cost energy".

One little problem, in trying to pass himself off as a strapped poor individual in need of food and a job, he failed to disclose that his father is the head of Reed & Reed, Jackson Parker.

See young Parker's letter at:
http://www.pressherald.com/opinion/letters/saturday-opinion_2010-03-19.html

By the way Parkers, wind energy is extremely high cost energy and I guess you are not satisfied that Maine already has the 50th worst business climate in the country. Pad those pockets.

Comment by Monique Aniel Thurston on January 30, 2012 at 4:23pm

in  2005 Beth  Nagusky , then director  of  the Office for Energy , Independence and Security ,gave  a power  presentation  to  LURC called :" Maine the energy  picture 60000 feet from above "( please see  link:)

http://www.maine.gov/doc/mfs/windpower/pubs/pdf/energypicture.pdf

Her last slide  said  : WHY WIND ? WHY NOW ?. It was  a pretty  collection of  blue balloons , including global warming , price stability , energy independence , job and  economy .

 Who would  want  to  be  against motherhood and apple pie ? 

She  got  LD 2283 , and Act to expedite windpower.

Without ever doing  a cost analysis of wind power  versus estimates  of conventional generation .

Without ever creating  a  built -out  map  of  Maine demonstrating the cumulative effects of  more than  1000, 400 feet  high wind turbines peppering the landscape.

Without  listening  to  the pain  and suffering from noise  of  those located  too close to turbines.

Without thinking  of  the effects such massive  industrial intrusion could  have  on the landscape for residents and tourists alike .

Without realizing that windpower is  the grid operator nightmare because of  the irregular  and unpredictable output  .

Without any  of the above , BethNnagusky and her friends got the Expedited Law in 2008 , 3  years  after  her presentation  to LURC.

 

Now 4 years later , Beth Nagusky wants more : a referendum to increase RPS, requiring ratepayers to buy wind power no matter what the cost !

The energy picture 60000 feet from above  is  in free fall however , today the backers  of  the referendum conceited defeat for the upcoming election year .

The referendum is dead for next year .

Why ?

Partly because of  the backers's  inner dissension on strategy that are of  no great interest and partly because we  have  a Governor  who cares about electrical rates , people and places ..

And mostly because  we still live  in a country where an informed citizen  becomes an activist -citizen  . And  that is  not  making  it easier for special interests.

We all feel sorry that the referendum backers  may lack signatures , our  echo chamber  would  have  suddenly reach 60000 feet and above . 

  

Monique Aniel