Chance to Call Out Maine DEP on Landfilling Turbine Blades
On May 10 the Environment & Natural Resources Committee will take up a substantive bill that hopes to reform and update Maine's landfill policy, which is a very big duty of the Department of Environmental Protection. The bill is here: LD%20112%20sponsors%20proposed%20amendment%20for%20PH.pdf
Earlier this year during the public hearing for the RoxWind project the intervenors made the case that the RoxWind decommissioning plan is woefully inadequate in that it overestimates scrap redemption values, underestimates material handling/deconstruction costs, and makes no provisions for waste disposal. The DEP has not made a decision yet. The intervenor objection is here:
Downes%20Testimony%20FMM%20RoxWind.pdf
There are 1200 composite fiberglass turbine blades in service currently in Maine. If offshore wind catches on, there will be lots more. Reports from Maine and around the world say that these blades do not last. There is no viable recycling method for them. DEP anticipates they will be disposed in one of Maine's limited landfills. In March, Brad Blake brought the looming landfill crisis to legislators' attention as they were about to hold seminars on solid waste issues/policies. His letter is here:
The DEP issues regular reports about solid waste. They characterize different classes of waste, including "Special Waste," which requires special handling. As you can see in their planning documents, they're planning for cell phones and solar panels but they don't even have wind turbine blades on the radar:
WGDCReport%202019%20final%20for%20submittal.pdf
2019-SMM-PLAN-final-with-comments.pdf
Regarding fiberglass disposal, here is an excerpt from the RoxWind intervenor testimony. It is the section specifically about fiberglass: Excerpt%20from%20RoxWind%20Decommissioning%20Criticism.pdf
At the legislative hearing on May 10, might it make sense for the public to ask the committee and the DEP why they still have not addressed the overwhelming landfill crush posed by Maine's wind turbines? Maybe instruct DEP to do so immediately?
Perhaps someone on this page has the expertise to develop the case to be presented on May 10?
Views: 141
Comment
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Comment by Robert Goldman on May 3, 2019 at 7:19pm
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Oh my, these monstrosities are huge. How can these idiots not plan for such a massive disposal of fiberglass? NRCM, AMC, Maine Audubon, Maine Sierra, the Sportkillers Alliance of Maine and the other corrupt idiots who enabled this scam should have to fund proper and safe disposal.
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Comment by Art Brigades on May 2, 2019 at 11:21am
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The above-linked DEP reports show that Maine landfills have capacity issues, whether measured in cubic yards or tons. Either way, the turbine blades are going to take up a lot of that capacity. The state did purchase land west of Lincoln (near some of the first blades that will probably be disposed) at Carpenter Ridge, with the idea that it will become the next landfill when Juniper in Old Town is capped. Good question about the weight/volume of turbine blades compared to more routine wastes. Anyone hazard a guess?
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Art Brigades post is remarkably thorough and provides a roadmap that the media --if they were doing their job-- would be following. Regrettably,the narrative being pushed currently is all about irrelevant plastic bags,straws and Styrofoam containers.
1200 (current estimate?) wind turbine blades to be "recycled" or buried? How many "one-use" (phony term) plastic bags would those blades be the equivalent of in weight,let alone cubic yards?
Perhaps Naomi Chalit (formerly of Me.NPR?) ought to consider this as a news story?
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Comment by Thinklike A. Mountain on May 2, 2019 at 10:10am
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Maine becomes 1st state to ban single-use foam containers
https://wtop.com/national/2019/05/maine-becomes-1st-state-to-ban-si...
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
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(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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