Tick, tock, tick, tock - why is the state ignoring the state university's findings? (Updated July 11)
Tick, tock, tick tock. The sad performance of the $2 million (and counting) UMPI industrial wind turbine continues.
Yesterday at 7:02 AM UMPI had achieved 690,542 KWH after 422 days. At 10:17 AM, 27 hours later, achievement stood at 690,588, a gain of only 46 KWH. At the same time, yesterday was a sweltering day and air conditioners drew plenty of power to keep us cool.
The capacity factor is a miserable 11%. There should be fireworks that so much money is being thrown at this feckless power source that maims our countryside and turns upside down the lives and dreams of so many Mainers - now that the University of Maine has proven that onshore wind does not work in the state's only experiment to date. Of course the state's study is corroborated by the municipal studies of wind done in Kittery and Saco, where wind has also failed miserably. Why is it that the only three public data sources of wind in Maine all show that wind in Maine is a total failure, but Governor Baldacci continues to proclaim it a success? Why is the state ignoring the state university's findings? Why is the media not all over this?
Performance to date is abysmal, yet the media have called this a "great decision". http://www.bangordailynews.com/detail/143872.html If a student at UMPI achieved 11% on an exam, would he or she be called a great success? With all of the wind subsidies and borrowing coming out of our children's futures, what kind of message are we sending them when we pronounce an achievement of 11% a "great success". Wouldn't that fetch them an "F" at UMPI?
Tick, tock, tick, tock.
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Views: 266
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Comment by Long Islander on July 13, 2010 at 6:44am
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Comment by alice mckay barnett on July 12, 2010 at 9:53am
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Thank You Long Islander. I do not know who you are but, keep on. You do not give up; neither will we.
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Comment by Ron Huber on July 11, 2010 at 1:36pm
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The media are like bored kittens, suddenly offered shiny flickering toys. Add a sprinkle of "jobs", a dash of national security, and a splash or two of Mainers bravely, doggedly taking up the burden of energy production for the Greater Grid. Once industry's got their attention, they will happily, drowsily spin, spin spin, industry's PR
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Comment by Karen Bessey Pease on July 11, 2010 at 11:12am
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An excellent question, Long Islander. Why ISN'T the media publicizing this? Why is the governor still proclaiming it a success? I think it's another case of 'If we say it often enough, people will believe it.' Sadly, that's often the case. So... it's up to us, the average citizens, to do the job which the media should do, and to tell the facts that the administration should tell. Thanks for doing your part.
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Comment by Eric Rosenbloom on July 3, 2010 at 11:53am
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It's at -0.6 kW again at 11:49 a.m., July 3, wind speed 4.1 m/s. -2.4 kW at 11:50. -2.7 kW at 11:52. I bet the cumulative production doesn't reflect these periods of net consumption.
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Comment by Whetstone_Willy on July 3, 2010 at 11:20am
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Welcome Eric. Despite the vigilance on this site, and the fact that this turbine is a complete flop, it didn't stop the mainstream media from reporting it a "Great Success". If you have a moment, please read the following article that ran in the Bangor Daily News.
http://www.bangordailynews.com/detail/143872.html
I would like to believe, that ultimately, this sort of shilling by newspapers is very shortsighted and will come back to bite them. But I guess it will take some patience to see.
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That was at 1:08 p.m., July 2.
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Fascinating resource (http://130.111.52.254/wind.asp)! Frequent refreshing shows just how variable the turbine's output is. And here's an interesting one: -0.6 kW, even though the wind is well above cut-in:
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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