Comment

Comment by Martha thacker on June 10, 2013 at 8:22am

Allen

"The american people want change that will work not lies." Well said. 

Speaking of lies. Mass. just paid a panel of experts to determine whether turbines affect the health of those living around them. This is a rebuttal to the paid experts who say everything is rosy for wind farms. I am personally sick of it.

http://www.windaction.org/documents/38599

Would like to know if Maine is making money off of Renewable Energy Credits with Mass. ..if so , how much? This would be motive which is the crime of allowing wind farm corporations to destroy Maine.

Comment by Allen Barrette on June 10, 2013 at 6:59am

And further more as I had mentioned some time ago because of our economic collapse there are millions of abandoned businesses and homes powered down just sitting there rotting away. So don't tell me we are still overloaded because it's a lie. 

Comment by Allen Barrette on June 10, 2013 at 6:55am

This is a scare tactic of whomever is getting the most buck from their lies, Lets see wind developers,generator manufactures,candle makers camping supply outfits,and manufacturers,Ice sales,grocers,in the winter firewood dealers,pellet distributors,There is no problem with the grid just the anal retentive nature of the corporate leaches that keep sucking from the financial grid. There seems to be a big fat lie that is emulating from the lottery of tax sucking politicians and corporate leaches.The lie being the Grid needs overhaul. The only thing that needs an overhaul is the power companies ability to maintain the grid in the first place. Remember the Ice storm several years back when lots of people lost power for 5-7 days well that was nothing more than lack of maintenance. How many tree limbs came down on power lines? How many substations and switch relay stations are flooded half the time? etc,etc this folks is all about maintenance not the grid falling apart. As an engineer you learn about preventive maintenance and you get to it managing every step of the way. The fact that CMP and every other power company generation and distribution doesn't like to spend time and our money on their preventive maintenance schedules but rather react instead of acting responsibly and get out there and just do it. Is the grid needing updating probably but not right now. It sounds more like the power companies need to learn about preventive maintenance. Transformer over load is happening more frequently now One reason could be that their not maken um like they used to ay. Are they trying to save a buck or what. I'll put my money on the thought of manufactures wire size is smaller today than it was 30 years ago and that folks has everything to do with durability and longevity with motors, transformers, inverters, and generators. The truth lets start looking at the truth lets start with why no one is promoting and electrically charges monorail system that can charge the grid as we ride,gets you to your destination at over 150mph,does not kill animals,and birds,has no sound will put 10s of 1000s of people to work,will not pollute. The american people want change that will work not lies.This Idea has already been submitted to the white house all I received in return was an invitation to attend a campaign fund raiser. So we the people need to move on this not the federal government. They are all tied up with dinner luncheons. This is the no brainer folks.                                                                                                                                                                                                    -                                                             ----Got Vision----  

Comment by Kathy Sherman on June 9, 2013 at 5:45pm

Thanks.

I like this one even better:
http://www.clfventures.org/success-stories/aroostook-wind-energy/
- transmission towers and industrial turbines together - what could be better?

Of course, the picture isn't Maine (VT, NH, Berkshires or NY) because it is flat empty pairie.

But the story is about northern Maine and how CLF Ventures helped solve the problem of transmission capacity constraints on wind generation in Aroostook in the north - how to get the electricity downstate where it is needed. On behalf of Horizon Wind, CLF worked with ISO-NE, the New England Governors and the Public Utility Commissioners, i.e. the "stakeholders" and came up with the solution - "regionalized cost sharing solutions" aka screw the stakeholder not at the table, the ratepayer who will be paying so much more for RPS, RGGI, RECs and regional long-term contract PPAs for wind energy that they might not notice the costs of a little new transmission from Aroostook County. Shouldn't there be some walls around our PUCs against lobbying? I guess not when it is "facilitating" and "consensus building", or analysis/consulting for a public entity.

Besides the ratepayers, it seems no avian protection groups were concerned that wind energy proponents are always saying that transmission towers and lines are much more lethal to birds that their gently rotating 1.5 acre plus rotors. And no one was seemingly concern about the impact of the transmission towers plus 100s of MW capacity wind generators on the local environment.

While at CLF ventures - check out their environmental insurance agency - no, they do not insure wind developers against lightning strikes, curtailment risk or liabilities such as chronic noise nuisance or other property damages, they just have this "novel" concept as "pay as you drive" for auto insurance. My insurers have always asked my mileage.

Comment by Long Islander on June 9, 2013 at 2:06pm

Check out the pretty wind turbines on the following CLF site.

http://www.clfventures.org/our-results/

Comment by Kathy Sherman on June 9, 2013 at 1:59pm

CLF Ventures also wrote the "book" on wind energy siting for Massachusetts. They did call for a setback of 1.5 times total height which is better than some local by-laws (1.1x), but nowhere near Denmark's four times height for visual intrusion, 10 times rotor diameter plus to limit shadow flicker, and their is no mention of absolute noise limits in Europe as I recall.
I really wonder about these commercial environmental groups and the "facilitating", consensus-building organizations that go along as part of the package.

Comment by Gary Campbell on June 9, 2013 at 9:49am

In PPDLW's pre-filed written testimony for the Bowers application, we had CLF on a list of organizations that had accepted money from First Wind. On cross examination CLF's Sean Mahoney laid into me for that saying it is not true. At the moment I was unable to prove otherwise. Afterward, I found that it was CLF Ventures, the consulting arm of CLF, that has a wind developer (Horizon Wind) as a clients and had therefore accepted money from them. Small difference if you ask me. At least Mahoney gave me the opportunity to get the facts into the formal record. He did not respond to my 'clarification'.

I suggest that if there must be blackouts this winter, ISO-NE start by blacking out the CLF offices.