i don't understand how so many jobs will be generated by wind projects.

i have never seen anyone near a wind turbine when it is operating. as far as i can see the wind just blows and they go around. no help needed from any of us.

are the thousands of employees stuffed in the riser? or are they underground somewhere?

i think these people are lying.

why is all power sent out of state? how does that help the people in maine.

Not to worry dears, the powers of NIMBY are gathering and there will not be anything to obstruct your views. Well at least the view of the wealthy. God forbid we try to bring some infrastructure to the state.

Idiots unite! Join together to save your view.

sincity - the jobs are typically maintenance and operations of the turbines, which is performed daily. Generally, there is a tech for every 4-5 turbines installed. And there are folks who monitor and control the operation remotely from an operations facility located near the site. Not to mention the construction jobs, engineering, etc. that goes into building and design.

benoddway - why do paper companies send all the paper out of state? Why do potato farmers send so many potatos out of state? Why does BIW send all of its destroyers out of state? How about National Semiconductor, or Jackson Labs? Or, how about the University of Maine - most of its graduates? It all goes out of state because there is something out there beyond our borders called "money." Perhaps you've heard of it. Maybe you would rather import everything and send what little money you have left to someone out of state who makes things for you. What made our country great was our ability to build things and sell them to others - out of state and out of country. I can't believe people are still asking this question? Have we become that dependent on others to take care of us?

There is plenty of power that could be made and used here, and the rest can go out of state. That's how any business locating in Maine prefers it.

"Generally, there is a tech for every 4-5 turbines installed"

NOT TRUE. Generally a wind "farm" with 40 turbines has 2-3 employees.

Nice try Windfuture - but the companies you mention aren't destroying every viewshed in Maine and producing the deleterious sound that the Maine Medical Association says we need to be concerned about. And the companies you mention don't require that a $1.5 billion transmission line with huge ugly towers be funded by RATEPAYERS so thay can sell electricity out of state. And these companies don't have crooked lawmakers who make crooked laws that require biomass plants to shut down in favor of wind. What a crock.

"Several people seemed concerned that the state is moving too quickly as it prepares to construct the test sites".

This is because Blogo-dacci has only 15 months to put together his retirement plan.

There are many "best and most beautiful areas" all over rural Maine that these beautiful people couldn't care less about that are being desecrated by these mammoth monstrosities. Put them on the coast where the wind really is. For that matter, put one on the lawn of the Blaine House.

"Offshore wind power may have the capacity to help the state free itself from its dependence on foreign oil" "“You can be certain that the price of fuel will go back up again, significantly. And we’re going to be a lot more interested in wind." WAKE UP ABIGAIL CURTIS AND DIANE MESSER. Here's how it works: Wind produces electricity, and actually very little at that. Oil is used to generate practically no electricity. Rather it is used to heat our homes and drive our cars and make our plastics. Electricity is not used for these things. Both of you demonstrate by your comments that you would stand to benefit by learning about the subject.

Everyone wants the benefits of "going green" but none of them "wants it in my back yard". Idiots.

The electricity is not all sent out of state. Maine is a 40% electricity importer. Its going to help maine by increasing tax base and providing a few jobs all the while.

The cost per Kilowatt for wind is not that great. We need to rebuild Maine Yankee. Then we can produce most of the energy need for the state and control our own costs. We need to drop the energy cost so business can come back to Maine. Hopefully they realize being the first isnt the best. Maine needs to realize that we dont need to be more Green we have plenty of green trees. We need need nuclear. Lets get that going. Then we can create jobs not just in the power industry, by bringing other business in. That will bring jobs and hopefully lower cost of the people that have stayed in the state.

“Once the turbines are up, the price of fuel is zero,” said panelist Beth Nagusky, director of the Office of Innovation and Assistance at the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. “[Wind power] gets us away from the volatility of the market.”

Maybe I am wrong but I thought I read somewhere that EACH tower uses around 60 gallons of oil each month just to run. Does anyone have any information on that?

"Maine is a 40% electricity importer" NOT TRUE. Maine is a net EXPORTER.

" We need to rebuild Maine Yankee. " agreed...but what would the NIMBYs say about OMGNUCLEAR!!11!!!1...there will always be people who want to stand in the way of technological progress. Also with Matinicus being the new "wild west" how long before someone decides to bring down a windmill? Don Quixote in a lobster boat?

Yes the noise three miles off shore is going to be such a nuisance. Anyone fighting this is foolish. There is much more to running a wind farm than just the turbines. You also have the transport and storage that will have employees involved.

You people fighting against this. Do you think that it is better to tear apart whole mountains to keep coal power? Do you think that destroying millions of acres in Alaska to keep oil power is better than putting up towers, off the coast, that after being built will have no adverse environmental effects? The wind will always blow, oil and coal will not always be there.

Engineers educated in Maine colleges will have jobs that will keep them in the state. We wouldn't have more jobs here would we? Wind power is local. Local people will get local jobs.

mudboginmainer, energy costs did not drive businesses out of Maine. Regulation and high taxes did. We need to rebuild our state houses not Maine Yankee.

“Once the turbines are up, the price of fuel is zero,” said panelist Beth Nagusky

Well apparently Beth forgot to mention that you have to keep normal power plants on a hot standby to come online when the wind stops blowing. To keep a power plant on hot standby required fuel and lots of it. If you study the wind power system that are in Europe you will find out that after you factor in when the wind doesn't blow and units being offline for repair you end up with getting power from a turbine about 15% of the time on average. So 85% of the time you need power from a normal power plant. Not really a great advantage once all is said and done is it.

"Well apparently Beth forgot to mention that you have to keep normal power plants on a hot standby to come online when the wind stops blowing".

This means that the conventional power plants are using huge amounts of fuel (when on "hot standby") and producing ZERO electricity while doing so. The more you know about wind power, the more you realize it is a very foolish power source. The average person who mouths off about being Green, is very green in what they know.

Power generation will occur offshore[not on land], so unless you are going well offshore, you won't see or hear the turbines.

"Participants expressed worries about interference with lobster fishing, the effect on seabirds, whales, fish and butterflies, the impact on Maine’s dark night skies and damage to the scenic nature of the coast."

When is the last time you saw a butterfly 20-30 miles offshore? What lobsterman is 20-30 miles offshore putting traps in?

What is more harmful to the environment, a woodstove, oil furnace, or offshore power generation? I would hazard a woodstove.

What if you could heat your home with electric heat cheaper than a woodstove?

T. Boone Pickens could not install all of his wind turbines because the grid could not handle the capacity, wow that's an awesome thing.

My research on wind turbines has NEVER lent me to believe that they use any oil. There is oil in the massive gearbox.. a gearbox big enough to hold 60 gallons I am sure. I am sure it is changed once a year.. or every 6 months.. or something like that.

I am not your "average person" in terms of the way electricity works.. but when you have a coal plant to produces XX amount of megawatts, there are still plants running in standby (spinning reserve as they call it). There ALWAYS is. It is the way the market works. If you bring enough wind online to shut down a coal plant, then you have eliminated the emissions of that coal plant, although the spinning reserve is still doing it's thing.

Please, also be aware that plants in spinning reserve do not burn much fuel. Just enough to keep the turbines spinning so that they don't have to start cold in the event of an emergency. The number one priority of a grid operator is reliability (thus the reserves), not price and emissions.

Unless you understand the electricity market with a dangerous prowess, it is very irresponsible to call others "green". Wind does cut back on emissions, it is simple math.

Wind farms do not have much affect on foreign oil. Natural gas, hydor and bio mass are most common here in ME. The US has plenty of natural gas.

Oddly enough...foreign oil is more integrated into wind farms. How could that be. Iberdrola out of Spain owns Maine Public Gas and Central Maine Electric. They want to buy up all the permits and wind farms just as soon as gov baldaci can get Mainers to pay for the transmission lines.

Iberdrola is funded by Aby Dhabi Energy. That is where the oil is involved. You never know with foreign corporations. Wish gov baldaci liked us as much as he does them. He wants wind farms on every hilll and in every potato field. WE currently export energy.

What is in it for him, I wonder. Certainly not taking care of his constituency.

Blago-dacci's former chief counsel, Kurt Adams, heads up First Wind, the marauding company that selects sites not on the basis of wind resource, but rather on whether it can get town officials to deal with them in total secret for months before the townfolf even know anything is afoot. And then, when it's officially announced, it's a done deal. Beware Patten, Stacyville, Sherman and Benedicta. You are next. And a lot of other places too.

Wind Power Cost effective NOT, Eye Sore YES. Tidal Power YES, Hydro Power YES, Atomic Power UNSURE of.

T. Boone Pickens don`t trust him as far as I can throw him. And Baldi I just wish I could throw him in a Roman Colliseum full of Maine Citizens, thumbs down!!