I spent all of this summer living only a half mile from the Freedom windmills and I have to say - all this talk about how terrible they are seems pretty absurd to me. Sure I could hear them and see them from where I was. But the noise was hardly offensive, and wasn't even noticeable unless the wind was blowing in my direction. Indoors, it was never even perceptible. Watching the blades spinning through the trees (and they were almost always moving) was always mesmerizing. I hiked up to the turbines a few times and it's definitely impressive to stand under them. I can understand why people may find them ugly, since it really just depends on your perception of them, but then maybe those people should find their own windmill-free mountain to purchase with their fortunes.

Oh, and I didn't lose my sense of hearing, go crazy, or start biting the heads of chickens. Just because it spins and makes a "whoosh" doesn't make it evil...

I do think that government incentives and subsidies for any sort of energy production (both fossil fuels and renewables) are a ridiculous use of money that simply hides real costs from the people who pay for it anyway. But really - the more homegrown energy of any sort that we can make the better for our future! So let's put those turbines up where they are economically viable, there's undeveloped space and - obviously - where they won't be offensive to neighbors. But both from having lived near a wind farm and done my share of research on the subject, I think that using our wind resources effectively is a great move.

Sounds like our good old government officials are telling us that it's simply a matter of trusting them. Why of course.

I personally feel that Tidal and Hydro are the way to go with alot less loss of Maines Scenic Beauty.

I still do love the looks of them coming down the hill into Mars Hill.

But I do not have to live there day in and day out.

And I have no idea what our visitors from out of state Think about them either.

Alot of money and jobs that are needed in the Place We Call Vacation Land.

I was wondering when the NIMBY no-more-nukes, tree huggin', granola-slurpin', Volvo drivin' Kucinich voters would band together against wind power.

David Farmer speaks of a careful process. He is right about that. Carefully stripping Mainers of their constitutional rights.

The careful process got ME law changed so your property can be taken by emminent domain for transmission lines.

The careful process has stripped Mainers of their constitutional rights. Even though property close to wind farms have 30 to 50% drop in appraised value...towns cannot have ANY voice in the siting of industrial wind farms. As in ...if your town did not want a wind farm ...the ME state govt and wind farm developer did....you would have it anyway. Towns are not required to even have a public hearing.

The careful process raised ME noise decible level law ....after the Mars Hill wind farm repeatedly exceeded state law. The law was changed.

I guess 90% of Mainers are for wind farms....all they read in the paper and see on TV is totally favorable. The fact that the Stetson Mt wind farm and new Kibby wind farm are not online is a well kept secret. http://bit.ly/3xMRV1 is the transcript for US govt vs FERC over the building of Stetson Mt wind farm. No room on the grid. Bottleneck in Orrington . Nothing has changed. Stetson II...same thing. Harvard is buying 10% of their electricity from Stetson II. Hope Harvard figures out a way for the electricity to get past Orrington on it's way to Mass. They are so smart...I am sure they will catch on. LOL

How many people do you know in ME who heat with electricity? The way we are going to get away from foreign oil according to gov baldaci is to pay for 1.4 billion dollars worth of transmission lines for Iberdrola of spain. We already pay 40 per cent more than the rest of the country for our electricity.Add the 1.4 billion to our electricity bills ....we are getting away from foreign oil.If we spend a fortune on heating electrically. He thinks this is some kind of solution. If it sounds bizarre. ...keep in mind the NY AG is investigating First Wind for bribery of public officials. Then his solution makes sense in a criminal kind of way.

Iberdrola of Spain owns ME Central Electric and ME Public Gas. They are funded by Abu Dhabi Energy.

Most of ME's power plants use natural gas. The US has an abundance of that. Two alternative power plants have been forced to sell to facilitate wind farm energy...due to the fact that the New England Grid is at capacity.Fort Fairfield had to sell because Iso New England could buy cheaper from Canada. Indeck had to sell because Iso did not pay agreed upon price. Politics in ME is pretty dirty.

4

5

4 )The time came and went for our newspapers to report the news. NOT just transcribe from the wind farm representatives and state govt. employees.

5) Wouldn't papers sell better if they protected the readers from scam artists instead of being complicit in the scam.

Infighting among bleeding heart liberals is one of my favorite pastimes. Let the good times roll...er...rotate like a obnoxiously loud, bird-killing, scene bespoiling wind turbine.

beelzebubba...garysmom...First Wind employees are mean. First Wind is being investigated for bribery of public officials, false SEC reports, false instruments , fraud and a host of other criminal acts. Gov Baldaci and ME state govt treat this company like they are from heaven...and have a fleet of angels to save ME. Many of First Wind employees used to work for Enron. Remember how the Enron boys loved the fact that the grannies were having to go without power? You can get an idea from their posts here. Nasty. ME state govt. gets along well with them. Bad news. BDN...why not print the truth?

This is hysterical... We all want cheap energy, but do we want nukes? Nope, too risky. Do we want oil? Nope, too dependent and expensive. Do we want coal? Nope, too messy. Do we want wind? Nope, too ugly. Do we want wood? Nope, too destrctive to the land. But these things bring in business and good jobs. Do we want jobs? Nope, too lazy and business intolerant. But, we DO want cheap energy and and money! Brutal.

If wind energy was good...it would not have to be totally subsidized by the US rate payers and tax payers. I resent banks and corporations that continually make unsound business decisions/behave criminally and then expect tax payers to bail them out.

Iberdrola and First Wind have gotten millions from tax payers. Next they want to build gigantic transmission lines through ME so they can get Mass business. Why should Mainers pay for that? Welfare corporate dads.

Canada is offering cheaper energy. Gov Baldaci is mad about that because because just because.

Wooosh..... Woosh......Woosh....

Here this loud and clear, wind power is nothing more than a money grab. Like Madeoffs ponzi scam the losers are those left holding on when its all over.

The fall colors in Maine are stunning, too bad the money hungry firms from MAwant to litter the mountians with towers and whirling massive blades. Like the dams of the 50's and 60's long since obsolete how long before this wind farms are left to rust on the mountian side.

Yes long after we are all gone, the winds will blow across Maine and push the leaves of fall down the mountian side, and so ask youself, do you want these wind towers to be the legecy you leave to Maine children?

The “Wind Industry” in Maine should be concerned.

So should its short sighted politicians who embraced this fad way too quickly, without facts, merely being fed the pablum for the non-viable wind industry. Clearly the actions of an uninformed legislature who initiated the “Expedited Process” in Maine will learn what they have done, eventually. But who said the legislature led "We The People" anyway? Never have, never will in this republic.

According to Critical Insights Tracking survey, " Democrats, residents of the 1st CD, and those residents earning $75K per year or more were significantly more likely to say they support the building of wind farms, and fully nine-in-ten residents under the age of 35 support wind energy."

This leaves a great void in the population at large uncommitted. Indeed, when the Average Maine Citizen realizes they will get increased costs from this FAD DU JOUR of energy, they will rebel against it. It will develop only if the average Mainer is kept in the dark as to its real benefactors, the Wall Street hedge fund REC investors and the well connected elite in this state and elsewhere. Why is Maine poor? "We" , allow it to be.

When the people contemplate the mess made to Maine for nothing other than this energy fad, when their electric rates rise , when the view shed is destroyed, overhead transmission lines proliferate everywhere, when we see the power is going to feed HARVARD’s energy portfolio , when they see that overseas suppliers are being shipped our tax dollars and jobs, when will see this, they will close it down here. They will see more clearly what this "FAD INDUSTRY" is attempting to give them.

This citizen’s group holds great promise to inform the people of Maine, and the nation..

Where ever wind test towers spring up, secretly , it would behoove municipalities to get all sides of the story, and then decide with facts as to this “industry”. Ordinance to protect their municipalities against this “industry” first, and ask questions later. This industry can not exist without outright grants, they are financially non-viable, and probably always will be without direct hand outs of major proportion from the government. Municipalities will be left holding the financial bag of unfulfilled promises when the subsidies dry up.

It would behoove all to listen to “The Citizens Task Force on Wind Power”.

Never trust the fox (Wind Industry), with control of the hen house.

Always have citizens on guard, defending their interests. “Whose state is this anyway”?

Lest we forget, it is “We the People” who control. The politicians who forget this do so at their own risk, and citizens who don’t seize their constitutional rights will regret not doing so..

My new job is to pick up all the dead Bald Eagles, Owls, Falcons, Blue Herons etc., that the giant pinwheels broadside in flight. The birds never saw it coming, and it was painless, as their bent, thrashing, little bird bodies, writhed and twisted their way to earth with a splat! I get paid good to bury the birdies deep and keep my mouth shut. OOPS!

I had a Joe Biden moment.

There is considerable "wildcatting" to get as many windmills in place here as possible before the citizen of the State of Maine catch on that they are a bad idea. The US Department of Energy/ Nation Renewable Energy Laboratory's Wind Power Classification maps indicate that most of Maine (with the exception of offshore) is rated poor to marginal (at best)for wind power. Only off shore is there sufficient wind to produce reliable energy

Currently, there is good money to be made with subsidies, tax deferments, green credits and such, but the question is rarely asked whether the project is designed to harvest the power of the wind or simply harvest taxpayer dollars. The generating power cited is over rated as it assumes that the machines are generating at top potential all the time. They generally produce far less.

No one knows know who will own the projects when the mills are depreciated ,the tax benefits are gone and speculators have left for other investments. These are machines with large moving parts which, like any machine, will eventually wear out and break. Who will be responsible for the eventual decommissioning and demolition of defunct windmills and restoring the site?

Maine is relatively self sufficient in power generation. Nearly all of whatever electricity that is generated is sent south to energy hungry southern New England where they are willing to pay extra for "guilt-free" electricity where similar energy gains could be made by simply giving all households in Connecticut compact florescent light bulbs. One seems to notice the losses in transmitting the power over long distances.

We are constantly being told that we could be the Saudi Arabia of wind. I'm not sure living in a desert kingdom run by ultra wealthy despots is desirable.

Just how competitive is wind power anyway? Not very, if you consider data provided by the US DOE's Energy Information Administration.

According to their most recent government subsidies statistics (year 2007), wind stacks up against other energy sources as follows:

Presented as "Subsidy and Support per Unit of Production (dollars/megawatthour)", this financial support is necessary for wind to compete. So, we taxpayers contribute to the profits of the wind-to-energy folks. Without our coerced cooperation, these guys wouldn't stand a chance. Without these substantial government giveaways, the likes of Angus King and John Baldacci wouldn't be shilling for these people either.

All subsidy values are expressed in dollars/megawatthour produced by the various types of energy sources.

Natural Gas & Petroleum Liquids $0.25

Coal $0.44

Hydroelectric $0.67

Biomass (and Biofuels) $0.89

Geothermal $0.92

Landfill Gas $1.37

Nuclear $1.59

Wind $23.37

Solar $24.34

Be thankful the sun doesn't shine any more than it does in Maine.

Data available at http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/servicerpt/subsidy2/pdf/chap5.pdf

So if Natural Gas is .25 to produce one megawatthour. ME is predominantly natural gas now.

Wind is 23.37...Our electricity bills are 40% higher than the rest of the country ?

Our legislators , gov, LURC and DEP officials making this travesty possible should be in prison.No wonder gov baldaci had to expedite the process...get the permits in place with no hearings....when the people find out...there will be a big problem.

As I sat on the edge of Mooselookmeguntic Lake in the Rangeley Lakes Region this past Sunday enjoying the solitude and the view I thought, boy would this be one ugly view if all of the mountains I'm looking at had wind turbines sticking up out of the top of them. And my next thought was, why would a tourist want to come here if that is what they would see - I know I wouldn't want to come all this way to Maine's beautiful Western Mountains to see wind turbines - may as well stay home and look at the ugly city buildings. I also thought about the view from Height of Land where you can see many mountain ranges, the view that is so spectacular that I don't think there is one like it anywhere else in Maine and it spreads out to NH also. I pray someone will stop this whole turbine business. Putting them here in Maine or in any of the upper half of NH, VT or ME would be like putting them up all over any National Park - no one would stand for that and they shouldn't stand for this. I don't care how much electricity it will generate - find another way! This is not it! This will ruin the beauty and it cannot be replaced. The people who frequent these areas do not come to look at citified wind turbines they come to see trees, mountains, lakes, streams and wildlife only. Feel free to put those turbines in any Southern part of all of these states but leave the beauty of the North Country the way it is, the way life is supposed to be - remember!

Lets keep Maine looking like a post card, broke, no jobs, no industry, no businesses moving in because we are so far behind the 8 ball. But it will look nice

First Wind, the company that has more projects planned than anyone in Maine is under investigation for brery by NYS AG Andrew Cuomo. They are also the subject of a scathing letter from Democratic U.S. rep Eric Massa (NY) to President Obama. Massa accuses them of lying, cheating and corrupting and he asks that their Stimulus GIFT be revoked. They are 50% owned by hedge fund D.E. Shaw, the company that paid Larry Summers $5 million a year for one daya a week up until Summers was summoned to Washington this year to become Director of the National Economic Council. Summers and Geithner are the two most powerful economic advisors in Washington and ultimately decide on Stimulus dispensing. Soon after taking this job, Summers old company sees a GIFT of $115 million.

The head of development for First Wind is Kurt Adams, who was Balacci's chief counsel for three years. AG Janet Mills refuses to do anything from the legal standpoint and her sister, public health czar Dora Mills denies that there is peer reviewed literature showing the thunderous and low frequency noise from the turbines causes severe health problems.

See the congressman's letter to President Obama and start realizing just how foul this thing is here in Maine:

http://batr.net/cohoctonwindwatch/CohoctonWindmillsTOObama.pdf

Stay tuned - some very important people are going to be in trouble.

Jaygee...Stay tuned -some very important people ae going to be in trouble.

Care to elaborate? We need the US Justice Dept to come into ME and investigate.

The Conn AG took the Iso New England crooks all the way to the Supreme Court. No ruling yet.

Looks like the NY AG is going to investigate forever. You know how that goes. The Larry Summers Mafia does have clout.

The researcher behind the survey showing 90% support wind is co-author of the Wind Power Handbook for Public Power Utilities.

What a joke of a survey. What a joke overall.

BANANA: Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anyone

jaygee...First Wind does the same thing with the "experts" who say wind farms are faabulous for everybody. Pays third rate PHD ers to say what they want them to.

First Wind paid an engineering firm to do noise studies at the Mars Hill wind farm. ME DEP accepted the studies as real. Outside engineer , paid for by the 18 families who live right next to the wind farm....stated the studies were bogus.

Common sense tells honest people a study is not legit if the party paying for it is involved. That is the reason for govt. Why couldn't the DEP pay a group...if they don't have the expertise. Whole process stinks to high heaven. Then after the noise studies were declared bogus..as in First Wind is a criminal outfit...........LURC and DEP just kept right on permitting First Wind to build wind farms. They had no money.

Right after the Stetson MT wind farm was supposed to go online...Credit Suisse foreclosed on it. If First Wind had not gotten another loan...the wind farm would have belonged to a bank in Switzerland. How did First Wind get the permit for Stetson II. They admitted they had no money. No public hearing . Just a notice in the newspaper...where divorces are announced. Not too many people read that particular section. But First Wind was obeying ME law.Was ME chosen by First Wind to take over the govt. because the govt was already crooked? Bribery was a common practice?

Coal fired BAD, Nuclear BAD, Wood Heat BAD, Hydro BAD, Wind BAD, LNG VERY BAD. ... What the hell do you people want?

Does anyone know if there is any truth to the rumor that the son of Independence Wind's Angus King heads up mergers and acquisitions at First Wind??? If so, it scares me a bit how the people presumably in the know as to how government works have moved into this industry du jour - this wellspring of taxpayer funded free money. It comes out of our pockets and it will hit our electric bills - hard.

Until the greenies unhook from the electric grid they are part of the problem , not part of the solution. Quit being Hippocrates.

What citizen's in Maine want, for a starter, is a WIND INDUSTRY ETHICS CODE.....

Concerning First Wind:

This company is half owned by hedge fund D.E. Shaw, where Larry

> > Summers was making $5 million a year for one day a week of work - up

> > until the point where he took his current job as Director of

> > President Obama's National Economic Council. The other half owner is

> > Madison Dearborn, a friend of Rahm Emanuel:

> >

> > http://www.futureofcapitalism.com/2009/09/clean-energy

> > and

> > http://www.futureofcapitalism.com/2009/09/clean-energy-ii

Let's talk a bit about Angus S King III someone please? Who might he be, where might he be employed?

leumas....check this out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9srPoOU6_Z4&feature=player_embedded It proves your point.

Power to Harvard , anyone?

Lawrence Henry Summers (born November 30, 1954) is an American economist and the Director of the White House's National Economic Council for President Barack Obama.[2] Summers is the Charles W. Eliot University Professor at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. He is the 1993 recipient of the John Bates Clark Medal for his work in several fields of economics and was Secretary of the Treasury for the last year and a half of the Clinton Administration.

Summers also served as the 27th President of Harvard University from 2001 to 2006. Summers resigned as Harvard's president in the wake of a no-confidence vote by Harvard faculty that resulted in part from Summers' conflict with Cornel West, conflict of interest questions regarding his relationship with Andrei Shleifer, and a 2005 speech in which he suggested that the under-representation of women in the top levels of academia is due to a "different availability of aptitude at the high end." Summers has also been criticized by some liberals for the economic policies he advocated as Treasury Secretary and in later writings.[3] Since returning to government in the Obama administration, he has come under fire for his numerous financial ties to Wall Street.

Wind Power is not going to save us. You can only get so much energy from wind. Plus we dont have that steady of winds to build them everywhere. We need to bring back Maine Yankee. We can make it a recon-nuclear plant. Take all the waste from all the other nuclear plants and reuse it for energy. That is cheap fuel and would help out with waste by cutting down the half life of the waste. We could be the first to do this in the US. We want to be the front leader in everything why not this. Wind is not going to help, we just need to cut our losses. Nuclear is the was to go. Hopefully the new Gov. will turn this state around cause Johnny Boy is not doing it.

There is an intended 10-12 tower project that has several test towers on the Bowers Mt. ridge in Carroll that are just now being constructed. These towers would be visible from The Junior Lake Region. Once again, property values of individuals, but more importantly the natural heritage of Maine, being vast semi-wilderness expanses of natural environs, will be compromised for the financial benefit of big investors' tax credits for 20 or more years.

This is NOT advancement of technology crucial to our future and it is NOT long term job opportunites for our local residents.

If this is so important, PLEASE give us the numbers! How much energy has been produced on a weekly basis for the existing operational towers? Tell us the REALITY, not the potential. Let the people weigh the facts. Power to the People??? or Power to the rich????

Quote from jakemw"I do think that government incentives and subsidies for any sort of energy production (both fossil fuels and renewables) are a ridiculous use of money that simply hides real costs from the people who pay for it anyway. But really - the more homegrown energy of any sort that we can make the better for our future! So let's put those turbines up where they are economically viable, there's undeveloped space and - obviously - where they won't be offensive to neighbors. But both from having lived near a wind farm and done my share of research on the subject, I think that using our wind resources effectively is a great move."

I find it rather ironic that you of all people would write that. As you very well know, without disproportionately large government subsidies and incentives, NONE of the mountaintop windmills would exist and we wouldn't even be having this discussion. IF wind power were economically viable and could stand on its own, or even if it were subsidized at the relatively low rate that other sources of energy are, I'd be more inclined to support it, but it clearly can't. This is just a scam and a few big corporations, some politicians friends, and those who benefit from government funded research grants will be the only big beneficiaries. Those who will be hurt are people who live near them and enjoy(ed) peace and quiet, and those Maine taxpayers who will pay the subsidies, and those who prefer to view Maine's ridgeline's sans mechanical devices. They won't significantly decrease our dependence on foreign oil and it will hurt Mainers quality of life. It's just a form of sticking our collective heads in the sand for a few years so we can avoid talking about an energy source that would give us real energy independence, nuclear power. This fad will soon pass. Offshore wind power is a different issue, but should be funded by private investors, NOT taxpayers money. If it's economically viable, offshore windfarms will have no trouble atracting investors, and if it's not, the taxpayers shouldn't be forced to waste their money.

Who is Representative Jon Hinck of Portland? How is he related to the Energy and Utilities Committee, and what does his wife do? Who does she work for?

How is he related to the to NRCM? (Natural Resources Council of Maine). Did they have anything to do with Expedited Process in Maine?

DobieStarbuck...Lisa Linowes at windaction.org has tried to get the numbers on energy sold from the Stetson Mt windfarm from FERC. FERC did not want to give them up.

When Lisa finally got them ...she said they were dubious.

As far as I know the state and other government agencies have been able to "take " land by eminent Domain for YEARS. Its nothing new. I have a powerline ROW on the end of my property which was taken by eminent domain 30 or more years ago... with no reimbursement that I am aware of, That ROW allows them to "maintain" the corridor ie: cutting trees, removing fences ( endangering my livestock) and anything else they want to do.

The state took land by eminent domain to re build a culvert 20 odd years ago , again leaving a mess on my property, taking fences down and leaving hazards to my livestock in areas NOT taken. I was reimbursed for the land taken, but not for the time energy and money involved in cleaning up .

There are drawbacks to every form of power, traditional or alternative. What should we sacrifice... a few views, or the possibility that in a very few decades most of our coastal cities will be under water..?

Talk all you want about the tourism industry, it is faltering at best. I would like nothing more than to see a thriving tourist economy in Maine, but it seems not to be happening

If global warming exists (and that is a big if), then a cold climate state like Maine will benefit.! Bring it on!

In either case, sending money to the "power elite" and to China and Brazil will never benefit Mainers. Nor will the increase in electric costs to do business in Maine. What you can do with the global warming issue is trade a few REC's though. Good ole' Angus and son know this.

Senator Schumer of NY is right, stop stimulus money outflow on industrial Wind projects. Even Berkshire Hathaway is only using it as a hedge for its coal projects.

Mainers will never benefit from it .EVAH!

Chris, the problem with your argument is that wind is not a source of very much power, it's certainly not going to ever even come close to replacing fossill fuels. Also, our coastal cities aren't going to be under water, that was just a movie designed to scare people and make money, you weren't supposed to take it at face value. Even assuming the worst case, a rise in sea level of even several inches won't even be noticeable in most places.

As far as your comments about eminent domain, I'm sorry that you've had to put up with all the disruption and damage to your land, especially if it wasn't really necessary or if the State exceeded their own boundaries. Having experienced it first hand, are you arguing that others should also have the "opportunity" to experience this hardship? Misery loves company?

According to Linkedin.com, the photograph of the Angus King who is VP of Mergers and Acquisitions at First Wind looks to be a man of about 30 or so years old. Could he be the son of the former Maine Governor of the same name? Maybe. Then again perhaps it's just coincidence. After all, Angus is a common name, and there could be many unrelated Angus Kings working at First Wind. Stranger things have happened, I suppose.

The law was passed in ME in May of '07 that land could be taken for transmission lines by emminent domain. The same day that Matt Kearn finally returned a call . My neighbors and I had called First Wind for almost two months . ...to see what exactly a wind farm was. All we got was an answering machine. This huge global corporation doesn't even have a secretary?

That same day was the last day that we who live here near Stetson Mt windfarm could file for intervenor status with LURC. Seemed kind of orchestrated to us. We are just a few without much money who live near Stetson MT. There are exceptions, of course. Easy pickins' for the govt of ME and First Wind.

When the wind farm was dedicated last Feb. ...gov baldaci drove by us with his head held high. We were not invited to the opening day party. He later told reporters he got out and talked to us. Seemed kind of strange. They are pretty convincing, to the reporters, anyway.

These people complaiining are blowhards, their comments are from the windmills of their minds, just another spin from the tree-huggers.

The claim by this so-called citizens group is that Maine doesn't need to develop wind power because the state "already produces more than enough energy." If that's true, why are 80 percent of our homes heated with fuel oil, which must be shipped into the state and is subject to dramatic price spikes like we saw last year?

The truth is, the development of wind power - along with renewable sources like solar, tidal and biomass - will create thousands of jobs in Maine. Not call center or retail jobs, but real, good-paying jobs in areas that desperately need them, like western, northern and eastern Maine. The development of more renewable energy sources will reduce our energy costs and make us less dependent on foreign oil to heat our homes.

Mainers should use caution, deliberation and a thorough public review process in deciding where to place wind turbines. They should not listen to the alarmist rhetoric of elitist, NY-based summer residents who care more about their waterfront views than the lives of every day people trying to make a living in this state.

Can't the Wind Industry even use unbiased polling studies?

This article , that uses Critical Insights, is biased from the get go. see below

Meghan McInnis, Research Associate................

"Prior to joining Critical Insights, Ms. McInnis was the Assistant Director to the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion where she assisted the Director through all stages of telephone survey development and analysis. In addition, she was a research assistant for the American Public Power Association in Washington, D.C. She is the co-author of Wind Power Handbook for Public Power Utilities."

She has served as a Congressional Intern in the Office of U.S. Representative Thomas Allen, where she researched proposed legislation on education and immigration policies.

Ms. McInnis is a graduate of Muhlenberg College in Pennsylvania. She received her Master's of Public Policy degree from The George Washington University in Washington, DC.

http://www.criticalinsights.com/ourpeople.meghanmcinnis.asp

Chris Cousins, please check your sources for "bias " levels will you please, or are you involved with spin, and not freedom of press and fact checking.

You did a good job here, for the most part. As far as checking for bias and balance, a bit off.

At least there's some perverse satisfaction, in a sad way, of seeing someone who's obviously a Democrat, admit that [Maine is] "broke, no jobs, no industry, no businesses moving in because we are so far behind the 8 ball."(7:08 AM) But maybe I'm not being fair - where was bush when all this happened?

Jeremy Payne, executive director of the Maine Renewable Energy Association, said in written comments that it’s no mistake that a recent poll by the firm Critical Insights showed that 90 percent of Mainers support wind power.

Such a joke!

Cleanenergyforme writes, "The truth is, the development of wind power - along with renewable sources like solar, tidal and biomass - will create thousands of jobs in Maine. Not call center or retail jobs, but real, good-paying jobs in areas that desperately need them, like western, northern and eastern Maine. The development of more renewable energy sources will reduce our energy costs and make us less dependent on foreign oil to heat our homes.

Mainers should use caution, deliberation and a thorough public review process in deciding where to place wind turbines. They should not listen to the alarmist rhetoric of elitist, NY-based summer residents who care more about their waterfront views than the lives of every day people trying to make a living in this state."

If the energy that's produced by this job creation has to continue to be subsidized by taxpayers at 5 or 6 times the rate of the next most heavily subsidized form of energy, we'l alll go broke trying to afford those jobs you imagine will be created. Also, the only way you can figure that windpower will reduce energy costs is if you leave taxpayer subsidies out of the equation.

It's not NY based summer residents who primarily object to this, it's real Mainers who live in rural areas because they are attracted to the natural beauty and peaceful surroundings, who are subject to looking at the eyesores and listening to the noise. Then, there's Mainers like me who live in the Bangor area who just think it's a bad idea because they don't deliver much energy and it's not economicaly viable and merely serves as a distraction from a real discussion of meeting our energy needs. Nice try, attempting to paint your opposition as out of touch out of staters, but if you read the comments above, it would be obvious that's not the case. Also, it's doubtful that summertime coastal residents will have much of an objection to offshore windpower once they start to be built because all the sites where they are proposed to be located are well out of sight of land.

“The noise they make drives people crazy.”

What a bunch of loons.

Eh.

Tell Jonathan Carter that more electricty would be created RELIABLY and far few trees cleared if we built a nuclear power plant instead! Anyone? Bueller...Bueller...?

It makes me laugh how the anti-wind and Friends of Lincoln Lakes people keep saying only in postings in places like this that First Wind is being investigated in NY. That investigation concerned several wind companies, not just First Wind, and it was never clear exactly who did what, meaning that the unethical activity could have been done by the other companies and not First Wind. The investigation's culmination occurred more than a year ago with the NY Attorney General announcing a Code of Ethics that all parties agreed to. No criminal charges ever came of it, no even indictments, and for all anybody knows, it ended right there. It's certainly possible that the investigation continues, but so what? Who cares? Investigations mean NOTHING unless they uncover wrongdoing AND result in criminal charges which, the last time I looked, mean NOTHING in this country UNLESS the guilt is proven in a court of law. Unless, of course, you're among the less ethical members of FOLL and you want to commit character assassination by innuendo. That's all they keep doing with this nonsense.

We have over a century of verfied natural gas and over 300 years of verfied oil reserves under our soil and offshore. And we have proven technology to extract it, refine it and use it for far less than these monsters. Besides, we could built nuclear power plants for additional cheap power. But, the mind-numbed sheeple that follow our progressive leaders have swallowed the kool-aid and are walking in lock step with these idiots.

We can't retrofit the military with windmills or solar power.

We continue to spend trillions to purchase oil from countries that don't even like us.

Pelosi put a stop to the oil reserves last year and we are at less than half capacity.

Vote these idiots out in 2010 and 2012 and drill, baby, drill.

If the accompanying photo bears any reality, looks like we're headed toward a mess. What constructive alternative do I have to offer? How about Hydro-Quebec?

I find it hilarious that anytime anyone tries to do anything progressive, there has to be a conspiracy behind it.

I also find it hilarious that people complain about having to look at these windmills, and how it's destroying the scenic views. These would be the same people who will complain long and hard about how bad our cell phone service is here in this state, yet virtually none of the smaller towns in central Maine that have suitable hilltops will let the cellphone companies put up towers. Or when they do decide to, then someone in town gets a petition signed to try and overturn it (hello Trenton!). It's extremely amusing to talk to people "from away" when they complain about not being able to make calls on MDI.

Yet we drive down the roads, oblivious to the telephone poles along everyone of these roads. Everywhere you go in Maine has them, unless you fly or hike or canoe.

"Not in my back yard." "But why can't we have this, why can't we have that..." "Our power costs too much..."

Tilting at windmills, literally. Where is DonQuixote these days? Oh, he's right here, in these forums!

"This business is absurd. The whole point of modern power systems has been to move beyond the flickering flutter of variable energy sources. Prostituting modern power performance to enable subprime energy schemes on behalf of half-baked technology is immoral. As is implementing highly regressive tax avoidance “incentives" to make it appear that pigs can fly. No coal plants will be shuttered and little, if any, carbon emissions will be reduced as a result of this project—or thousands of them.

Indeed, wind technology mirrors the subprime mortgage scams that wreaked havoc with the economy. Both are enabled by wishful thinking; bogus projections; no accounting restraints, accountability, or transparency; no meaningful securitization; and regulatory agencies that looked the other way, allowing a few to make a great deal of money at everyone else's expense while providing no meaningful service. "

J Boone "Windball"

To; '

Can you tell me where you get your information that property values drop 30% to 50%? I have been told that is not true. Also, if I have property that has a waiver to it....isn't that increased value? Another question....would you be willing to pay a view tax to landowners who are being denied use of their land??

gosh I see people are crying foul that thier oil shares are going down in value

In Antarctica an Australian station cut their oil use in half by using ONE smaller windmill . If one can power 5000 house than what is big deal . That is no noise from them unless you have the hearing of a shark . An oil refinery is not tourist attraction either

ToLo2Ro...Who told you property values do not decrease 30 to 50%? Speak to the 18 families who live around the Mars Hill wind farm. Think about it. You have these 400 foot turbines looming up near your house. That is like a four story building. Can't sleep at night.The red lights flash on and off at night so the planes won't crash into the turbines. If you are prone to seizures or migraines..that will be a problem...comes from the noise and flickering lights. Irregular heart beat , insomnia and anxiety are also problems for those living around wind farms.Google Dr. Nina Pierpont's work on wind farm syndrome.

I am sorry, do not understand what a view tax is.

A very very backward group of people. Must be Republicans. They always say NO to everything. Now NO to Wind Energy. SAD, very SAD.

patycat...our power plants in ME are natural gas...hydor and bio mass. Oil has nothing to do with our electricity. No power plant has been able to close when wind farms were built....Wind energy is unreliable and cannot be stored.Wind farms have to be sited away from people as they are a health hazard. Every mile the power goes down a transmission line ...there is loss.

Since the wind farms do not produce nearly as much as they say they can...you would only have a minimal amount of power from wind farms.The money is made from selling carbon credits. Ex. of how that works. NC has a lot of coal powered power plants. they have bad air days. children have a lot of asthma. Old people are encouraged to stay indoors when the air is particularly bad. So NC can buy carbon credits from wind farms in Texas. ...and continue on with the coal fired power plants. It is lose lose.

Let your wheels do the talking . Pack up and go south where the work is and utilities , food , property , and taxes are 20%-50% cheaper . New England does not want nuclear power but when Yankees move south they do not ask , only enjoy the all electric homes with utilities att 50 % of Maine

FredPhillips..the investigation is still going on in NY. It was brought about because so many people were threatened by First Wind.First Wind is never convicted of anything. g bush and d cheney were never convicted of war crimes. So , is anything proven ? The ME AG has not investigated First Wind and it's ties to DEP, LURC and the gov.'s office. Does that mean there is no guilt? No.

There has been an anti trust lawsuit brought against first wind. In ME there are lawsuits going on now from the families who live around Mars Hill wind farm. Friends of Lincoln Lakes has litigation against the town of Lincoln for not allowing due process. Everywhere first wind goes there are lawsuits. A town in NY had to sue for them to repair roads they damaged when installing a wind farm.

This is not normal...but it is indicative of poor business policies. And criminal activity. Two wind farms First Wind built are not online. Cohocton and Stetson. Odd . Stetson is selling carbon credits illegally. They are not online. and you are supposed to be online to sell carbon credits.It was found out that Cohocton was not online by the townspeople.

First Wind's own SEC report states they may have problems with the IRS because they did not have enough accountants. They may have lawsuits from environmentalists because of migratory bird paths going over the wind farms.

shoe68...you remind me of the people standing beside the roads at anti war rallies. They yell...."Go to Cuba." Because they are Communist?

When the US was borrowing billions from Communist China for their mid east war/occupation initiative during the bush years.

Communist Cuba offered medical personell to New Orleans while g bush was allowing people to drown. Of course , we could not accept help from the communists. Let us stop labeling and learn to live together in peace and harmony. We would all be healthier and happier.

'

A view tax is a higher rate paid if you can see, let's say the ocean, from you property. There are some municipalities where areas with scenic views pay a higher tax. Now you cannot own a view BUT you can be taxed to look at it. Now would you be willing to pay a view tax?

What I am saying about the decrease in property tax is this. It is my understand that no one in Mars Hill has tried to or has sold their homes and until this happens and an actual lose has been incurred, there is no reduction in housing value in the area. There have also been nice homes built since the wind turbines have been installed, so housing development has not gone down.

Chris1943...why would the legislature feel the need to pass a law that land can be taken for transmission lines by emminent domain? Could it be that the legislature made it illegal after your land was taken? I do not know.

I can see your point if wind energy was viable or reliable . It is neither. Would you like to use your electricity just when the wind is blowing 25 MPH? This is not modern day technology. More like a scam by some VIPS in ME state and federal govt.

Two bio mass plants have been kicked off the grid in ME to make way for wind farms. They supply jobs to ME woodsmen. You know that isn't right.

ToLo2Ro...you don't have to sell a house to know that the value has gone down. Here is how it works. You call a real estate agent and get them to come out to your house. They will give you an appraisal. Or you can pay for one to be done. You don't have to be selling.

See what you mean about the view. A nice lodge was give 100,000 in trust for the Stetson Mt wind farm . (someone told me this who I trust) Messed up their view. Then the poor shmuck who lives right next to a turbine. ...he was given a cook out. All in good community relations.

Where does all this talk about wind power noise come from? It's laughable. I've lived near a large wind farm, and the noise was never objectionable. I think opponents and those who are unsure about wind farms need to actually go visit a few before making such proclamations.

The only "bill of goods" being sold to the Maine people is a continuing, debilitating dependence on foreign fuels. It'd be interesting to see how many members of the Citizens Task Force on Wind Power are tied, directly or indirectly, to those fuels!

I'm certainly no expert when it comes to wind power but I took advantage of a beautiful day yesterday to drive to Stetson Mountain west of Danforth. This is the first time I and my buddy had ever seen one of these hugh wind mills up close. Granted they are very large but we found them attractive and interesting. Yesterday these wind mills weren't making hardly any noise. Inside my vehicle right under them you couldn't hear a thing with the windows closed. I'd be shocked if you could hear them from inside a house. I don't know anything about the economics of producing energy from them yet but I intend to do some research; the operation there on Spencer Mountain is very, very impressive; everything is neat and tidy; the roads are in excellent shape [and by the way are not blocked to prevent access to sportsmen or others]. As for large clearings; that also simply is NOT true; I gustimated that each windmill might occupy an area less than a quarter of an acre; Spencer Mountain is a beautiful hardwood ridge with very impressive volumes of merchantable hardwood timber. I've always been sold on tidal power as the best alternative energy source; but I guess just us people who live near the ocean can see that potential; now that I've seen the wind mills up close I will learn more about their efficiency as an alternative to fossil fuels but I'm going to keep thinking that the oceans tides will evntually show the way!!!!

no doubt seaglass.

Anyone who doubts the job-creating potential of invensting in clean-energy technology like wind power should read this report from the nonpartisan Center for American Progress:

The report says "investments in a clean-energy economy will generate major employment benefits for Maine and the rest of the U.S. economy. Maine could see a net increase of about $600 million in investment revenue and 10,000 jobs based on its share of a total of $150 billion in clean-energy investments annually across the country. This is even after assuming a reduction in fossil fuel spending equivalent to the increase in cleanenergy investments.

"Adding 10,000 jobs to the Maine labor market in 2008 would have brought the state’s unemployment rate down to 4.0 percent from its actual 2008 level of 5.4 percent. Clean-energy investments create 16.7 jobs for every $1 million in spending. Spending on fossil fuels, by contrast, generates 5.3 jobs per $1 million in spending. Most of the jobs created through clean-energy investments will be in the same areas that people work in today. Constructing wind farms creates jobs for sheet metal workers, machinists, and truck drivers. Increasing buildings’ energy efficiency through retrofitting requires roofers, insulators, and building inspectors. Expanding mass transit systems employs civil engineers, electricians, and dispatchers.

"Relative to spending on fossil fuels, clean-energy investments create 2.6 times more jobs for people with college degrees or above, 3 times more jobs for people with some college, and 3.6 times more jobs for people with high school degrees or less.

Anyone who doubts the job-creating potential of invensting in clean-energy technology like wind power should read this report from the nonpartisan Center for American Progress:

The report says "investments in a clean-energy economy will generate major employment benefits for Maine and the rest of the U.S. economy. Maine could see a net increase of about $600 million in investment revenue and 10,000 jobs based on its share of a total of $150 billion in clean-energy investments annually across the country. This is even after assuming a reduction in fossil fuel spending equivalent to the increase in cleanenergy investments.

"Adding 10,000 jobs to the Maine labor market in 2008 would have brought the state’s unemployment rate down to 4.0 percent from its actual 2008 level of 5.4 percent. Clean-energy investments create 16.7 jobs for every $1 million in spending. Spending on fossil fuels, by contrast, generates 5.3 jobs per $1 million in spending. Most of the jobs created through clean-energy investments will be in the same areas that people work in today. Constructing wind farms creates jobs for sheet metal workers, machinists, and truck drivers. Increasing buildings’ energy efficiency through retrofitting requires roofers, insulators, and building inspectors. Expanding mass transit systems employs civil engineers, electricians, and dispatchers.

"Relative to spending on fossil fuels, clean-energy investments create 2.6 times more jobs for people with college degrees or above, 3 times more jobs for people with some college, and 3.6 times more jobs for people with high school degrees or less.

cleanenergyforme....your report on all the jobs that are sure to come from green energy reminds me of R.I. and their off shore wind farm contract with Deepwater Wind. Brand new company. never done one job. Parent company First Wind. First Wind just stated in their SEC report they were over 500 million in debt and may have to sell off assets. yet they were able to form Deepwater wind..had just bought a company Wynergy...all within the same time period,

Now they got the over one billion dollar contract from ....get this ...promising millions of dollars worth of jobs. Brand new company...broke parent company...and they made significant donations to the GOVERNOR'S campaign funds.LOL

Spain, who is way ahead of the US on wind energy...did a study on green jobs/wind energy. Each job cost over a million dollars.Our stimulus bill is funding chinese turbine manufacturers. And old broken down wind farms efforts in ME. Larry Summers can do just about anything he wants . He and dick cheney....and the bushes.

Maybe jobs all over the world is what is meant by stimulating the economy and supplying green jobs.

Hey Seaglass, less than 1% of US electricity is generated with oil, foreign or otherwise, so you better skip down to the next wind industry talking point.

Wind power has no impact of foreign oil dependence. But you know what does impact of foreign oil dependence? Conservation and efficiency programs. Let's fully fund that before we line the pockets of Wall Street wind investors with working Mainer's tax dollars.

Great point, RealEnergy! Conservation and increasing efficiency are things that aren't nearly as sexy as wind farms, but have WAY more potential to decrease our dependency on fossil fuels. There are high tech efficiencies that most of us have little access to or control over except to choose to purchase it when it's available, but if everyone would just invest some time and dollar$ in tightening up and adding insulation to their homes, Mainers would significantly cut their use of fossil fuels, and instead of making some out of state company or friend of a politician rich, all the savings goes right back in the homeowners pocket, continuing to pay dividend$ and saving energy long after these wind farms will be twisted piles of junk in the Maine woods.

noname wrote: "ToLo2Ro...you don't have to sell a house to know that the value has gone down. Here is how it works. You call a real estate agent and get them to come out to your house. They will give you an appraisal. Or you can pay for one to be done. You don't have to be selling."

------

And real estate agents are not licensed appraisers, and have NO business telling anyone their property value has decreased. There is an agent running around northern Maine telling anyone who will listen that their property value will go down if a wind farm comes in. Facts - according to industry studies conducted across the country, the property values around wind farms go UP. Primarily because there is more money being spent in the aream, and the local economy improves, making housing more affordable. In Mars Hill, there has been NO decrease in values, even though that complaint is heard often. There are at least 3 new homes on the mountain in plain sight of the turbines, and all APPRAISED sufficiently well to get financed, even in a down economy. Asking a question and repeating a lie do not create a truth. Study the FACTS about this industry before jumping to conclusions. If you don't like them, that's fine. Not everyone does. But don't make up reasons for them not to exist to support your viewpoint.

I read all kinds of stories about how these wind farms don't produce any electricity, the grid becomes unstable, the subsidies are high. Take a look at total subsidies over the past 30 years for oil and gas and nuclear (with no new plants being built) and you will find wind power is at the BOTTOM of the list, not the top. Pricing of electricity from wind farms is consistent with the market, and often below natural gas cost of production. Otherwise, it wouldn't compete. Learn the facts - you may be surprised.

@cleanenegryforme: I've never heard anything from 'Center for American Progress' be called nonpartisan. That's a funny one.

There is a lot of nonesense going around about wind projects from both sides. What's laughable is the green party forming an oposition group to the cleanest form of energy there is. Now they say they prefer offshore. We'll see what they say when someone wants to build that. Hopefully they'll say what we all should be saying...We prefer nuclear.

Regardless, I'm a proponent of wind development in Maine. Specifically 'community wind' which puts an emphasis on local ownership. In June 2009, Maine established the Community-based Renewable Energy Pilot Program. As the name suggests, this program is intended to encourage the development of locally owned, in-state renewable energy resources.

Maine companies are preparing to build wind power projects that employ hundreds of local contractors spending millions of dollars in our state. A wind power project brings no toxic or hazardous materials into the community unlike many industries do. In Freedom, where 3 such towers were built recently, tax payers got a note in their property tax bill telling them that, if the towers were not built in their town, their mill rate would have been $4.3 dollars more this year. That's a savings of $430 per $100,000 in valuation. Bet not too many mill rates went down last year in this state, I know mine didn't.

Then there's the issue of property rights. Land owners having wind resources should be free to pursue putting them to use. At the same time towns should adopt clear ordinances regarding wind projects. The state has made a sample for towns to adopt here:

www.maine.gov/spo/landuse/docs/ModelWindEnergyFacilityOrdinance.doc.

For full disclosure, I'm related to a landowner who's currently in wind lease negotiations here in Maine. While dealing with two companies, one Maine owned, one not, it was clear that not all wind developers are out-of state, wall st, federally connected, crooks. Some are Maine folks, trying to do right by our community and environment. As for investors getting tax incentives, I'm okay with that. Someone elses tax breaks are not your tax dollars. If the the tax incentive went away, then there would be no wind power generation at all in this country.

More facts: http://www.windustry.org/communitywind

While I have grave concerns about the use of windmills close to homes, I would consider allowing them. And in fact there is a proposal to build them on a ridge directly across from my house. But I will not join this group or support its activities. The personalities involved are too questionable.

Eliot McCleod ..republican representative for the Stetson Mt area is on the state utility commission. He says that France has had an off shore wind farm that actually powers a lot of homes. Has been around since the late sixties. He is very interested in energy and speaks well of off shore wind farms. Says they do not interfere with fishing.

Don't know myself but land based turbines last about 20 years . They can't be insured because they are such a fire hazard.Their energy is intermittant and never even close to what the wind industry says they are going to get .

windfuture...nobody said real estate agents are licensed appraisers. The topic is wind farms.

rockvilleme,

I'd be much more supportive of wind projects if they were community owned and the energy was used in Maine. But Harvard just announced that 15% of one wind project in Maine will be sold to them. I don't see the value of wind if the energy is sent out-of-state and we have to pay all or part of the cost of new transmission lines to get it there.

Mr. Albrecht,

Maine is a net power exporter. We make more than we use. If Haahvud wants to pay a premium for green energy that's fine with me. Also, these projects are not cheap to build. Developers need long term, large quantity contracts to sell the power produced in order to get the banking done. Entities with enough buying power to do a contract like this include Govt campuses, hospital campuses and college campuses. If the producer is a Maine company, that's good for business in Maine. I wish we could use it in Maine too, but that's not how the grid works. Our neigbors in southern NE need power, and we have resources to produce it. Sharing in the investment to bring it to market, might be a wise move.

Sharing in th e investment to bring it to market might be a wise move. For whom? Multinational corporations? We export energy...so it is not needed for ME. The Mars Hill wind farm energy goes to Canada.

Dear No Name,

My point is that if Maine companies produce the power and sell it, then It doesn't matter where the product goes. It's good for business and property tax payers in Maine. I'm not a fan of our tax dollars being spent on transmission for out of state users. Just saying it may be a good investment. Also, when existing fossil fuel plants go off-line, the wind will still be blowing. And maybe then we'll need that power in state. That is unless we come to our senses and build a real solution for energy independence and cheap power...nuclear of course.

At least liberal Dem. Senator Schumer sees the insanity of sending US tax payor dollars overseas, when we should be keeping them here.

Mainers see the insanity too. In Spain for every 1 "green" job created two were lost , for a nest large loss over time. So we have to repeat their mistakes.? How does 30 cents a KWH look Mianers? Right off shore is a wonderful ocean ridge with oodles of oil, and natural gas.

Base line power on demand, with improved technology to harness it for safe extraction.

Hey gov, how about the cheap electricity next door in Canada. Can't scam that I guess either. Maine gets pooer because of lousy legislative decisions with one party rule in the state. And RULE it is. Watch for legislative changes to allow Iberdrola (CMP here), to be a generator and transmission line owner. And watch Maoiners be forced to pay every day for it, for years. And watch Angus King attempt to scare the naive Mianers into believing his project is good for us. Such hypocrisy is loathsome. Who the heck is Angus S King III anyway? Who does he work for, and who did he work for years ago? A name like Angus is certainly related to Bull isnt it?

Bloomberg.com -- By Daniel Whitten

(Bloomberg) -- Iberdrola SA, a Spanish company, will get most of the more than $500 million in economic recovery funds the Obama administration said today it is distributing to U.S. renewable-energy projects.

Bilbao, Spain-based Iberdrola will get $236 million for wind farms in Texas, Oregon and Minnesota and an additional $59 million for a Pennsylvania wind project, U.S. officials said.

Twelve projects in total will get funds, with 59 percent of the money going to Iberdrola’s Penascal project in Texas, the Hay Canyon and Pebble Springs wind farms in Oregon, Locust Ridge II in Pennsylvania and the Morraine II wind farm in Minnesota.

The money is part of President Barack Obama’s economic recovery plan.

Power to Mainers, Keep the GREEN HOME, SEND THE GREEDY overseas!

Is Angus S King III a Bull?

Some sort of new species able to do real work?

"There is little that is cognitively more dissonant than supporting the concept of minimizing the human footprint on the earth while cheerleading for the rude intrusiveness of physically massive/energy feckless wind projects. The slap and tickle of wind propaganda flatters the gullible, exploits the well intentioned, and nurtures the craven. It is made possible because there's no penalty for lying in the energy marketplace. The country has evidently arrived at a point in its legal culture where no negative consequences seem to exist for making false or misleading claims to sell wind energy—the stuff dreams are made of. But industrial wind is a bunco scheme of enormous consequence. And people who value intellectual honesty should not quietly be fleeced by such mendacity, even from their government".

Jon Boone

no name - The Mars Hill electricity goes THROUGH Canada and back into the US, to a customer in the US. It's called "wheeling" dipstick.

JonAlbrecht - do you see any value of blueberries being grown in Maine and shipped out of state? How about potatoes? How about timber, in the form of 2x4s. Or maybe paper from a mill in Maine? Manufactured by trees grown on Maine land? How about ships built at BIW? How many of those are we using here in Maine??? I haven't seen any destroyers at Moosehead lately.

As for "community-owned", that is great, if communities can come up with the $300-400 million needed to build them, and had the know-how to ensure they actually turn the expected profit. Wind energy is a great alternative, and a PART of the mix needed to ensure enough supply in the future. The companies that invest in these projects are legitimate, and have years of experience in most cases in developing projects.

If more American companies wanted to get involved, I would be in favor of that as well. What really puzzles me is why a state like Maine, with declining industries and a poor economy, is so darned choosy over companies who want to invest literally billions of dollars into the local tax base and jobs base. Maine is a net exporter of energy - and that is a far BETTER position to be in than the other way around.

noname - once again, you are incorrect in your assertions? Wind farms can't be insured? You're on crack. Energy is intermittent? It is there when the wind blows and is supported by other sources when it doesn't. As for the amount of energy produced, it is usually contracted long term (10 to 20 years) and delivery of the energy is a requirement of those contracts. The industry typically lowballs the number, to ensure they can meet the contract. Where do you get your info, anyway?? Windwatch??

noname wrote: "ToLo2Ro...Who told you property values do not decrease 30 to 50%? Speak to the 18 families who live around the Mars Hill wind farm. Think about it. You have these 400 foot turbines looming up near your house. That is like a four story building. Can't sleep at night.The red lights flash on and off at night so the planes won't crash into the turbines. If you are prone to seizures or migraines..that will be a problem...comes from the noise and flickering lights. Irregular heart beat , insomnia and anxiety are also problems for those living around wind farms.Google Dr. Nina Pierpont's work on wind farm syndrome"

-------

noname - The property values around Mars Hill have not decreased 30-50%. No one has tried to sell their house at a loss. A real estate agent who is opposed to wind development and who sold at least one of those familes their home made the statement that, in her opinion, their property value had decreased. #1 - that is an ethical violation if ever there was one. #2 - she is not qualified as an appraiser of property value in Maine; she is a saleswoman who doesn't like wind farms. She was asked her opinion to help fuel a lawsuit in an effort to squeeze money out of FirstWind. #3. The evidence around Mars Hill is that property values are INCREASING, even in a down economy, and as evidenced by the new homes being built around the mountain that had no problem being financed or appraised at full value. Fear tactics do not make facts!!!

Dr. Nina Pierpont is a pediatrician in NY with absolutely NO qualifications in the study of noise and its effects on the human body. Many qualified researchers have debunked her limited statements about the issue. I say limited, because for 3 years she has planned to publish her book, releasing a chapter or two from time to time to get comments and keep her name fresh in the debate. Every time she puts out any material, flaws have been pointed out. Her "peer reviewed" work is a myth. Her peer review board consists of her husband and a neighbor - not qualified to evaluate such a work, and hardly unbiased, as is required for peer-review status. Again, asking questions about the possibility of a problem does not make truth. For example, did the Space Shuttle bring back swine flu from space? Oh my goodness - that must be it!!! We need a space travel moratorium to ensure the safety of everyone on the planet!!!! Ridiculous.

Wind turbines generate less noise than the average home refrigerator or ceiling fan. A child swinging on a playground swing generates approx. 100 dBC of low frequency noise - about 3-4 times the amount generated by wind turbines. The supposedly harmful low frequency noise from turbines is far less than the levels required to even be noticed by the human body, based on blind sound pressure tests in sealed sound chambers. The idea of wind turbine noise causing health issues is another attempt to discredit a valid development effort. It is a non-issue.

What really causes the problem is when people set their minds against an issue and drive themselves nuts when they don't get their way. That can actually cause health problems. But, who is to blame?

Quote from Windfuture: "...do you see any value of blueberries being grown in Maine and shipped out of state? How about potatoes? How about timber, in the form of 2x4s. Or maybe paper from a mill in Maine? Manufactured by trees grown on Maine land? How about ships built at BIW? How many of those are we using here in Maine??? I haven't seen any destroyers at Moosehead lately."

I'd have no problem if wind power were a commercially viable operation like the blueberries and potatoes and timber and ships in your example are, but if our tax dollars were being used to heavily subsidize blueberry farmers, etc. at 5 or 6 times what other berries where subsidized at, then I'd have to say what's the point in continuing to produce and sell something, particularly out of state, that we know ahead of time costs way more to produce than it's worth on the market. No other business is run that way, why should wind power be? If the same logic you apparently espouse for wind power were to be applied to ship building, we just might see a destroyer at Moosehead or a palm tree plantation in Aroostook County. Neither would be economically viable but why worry about little details like that?

The wind industry is so pathetic. Not one fossil fuel plant has ever been replaced by Big Wind anywhere.

Maine should remove itself from ISO, so we stop being a plantation state. Look for candidates for the governor’s race that want to do that as well.

Look for candidates that wish to to have an Ethics Code for this Rogue 'industry' in Maine.

Get natural gas flowing in Maine, and kick out the AG.Kick out Dora Mills as well.

Are they related? Is there another Mills somewhere? Is it a Paper Mills.

Get rid of the cronyism running rampant in Maine's Energy Task Force.

BTW, it is great to see First Wind on the BDN in color, welcome!

Worried a bit are you?

Demean Nina Pierpoint. Demean Citizens Rights, and thwart them where ever you go. Breach legal process.

So pathetic. BTW, Nina Pierpoint's new book is only weeks away.

Remember Tobacco not causinging cancer , Remember Asbestos not cauing lung disease?

You spend 1 million to have legal defense, we spend $1000. Are the odds in your favor?

First Wind will be remembered as other scams,in the future. Defunct.

Time is ticking First Wind! Time is not in your favor. Tick, Tick, Tick........MORE GRANT MONEY?

Speak to Senator Schumer !

Tax and trade is next. Will the public buy it? Tick , Tick......Tick..

Noise and health issues related to wind farms are non issues to the wind industry employees writing here. Heartless. Look at Enron. Many of Enron's employees now work for First Wind. Every time a wind farm is built by First Wind, they are all surprised when they get complaints about the noise. Why? Because it is a non issue. Heartless...non issue. Circular.

That is the reason Matt Kearn could not answer any questions about the Mars Hill wind farm when he was trying to sell Stetson to the locals living in the area. Robin Clukey couldn't either. Neither could the LURC commitee members when they had the hearing in Lee. Nobody ever answered questions. There never was a problem with noise according to them.

First Wind would not admit they were selling energy to Canada from the Mars Hill wind farm even after it was up and running. Now if you look at their website...they will say Mars Hill is operating. Won't admit where the power goes. Stetson is operational..not operating.

"Adding wind instability to a grid may be an engineer's idea of job security. But for rate and taxpayers, and a better environment, it's criminal. For the grid is then forced to extend itself. As the wind bounces randomly around the system, operators must continuously balance it to match supply precisely with demand, compensating for the ebb and flow much in the way flippers keep the steel ball in play during a game of pinball. Windball expends a lot of energy. In real life on the most American grids, more than 70% of any wind project's rated capacity must come from the flippers of reliable, flexible, fossil-fired generation, constantly turned up and back inefficiently to compensate for wind fluctuations. These inefficiencies will result in substantial carbon emissions. And increased consumer costs."

J Boone

Mainer's ,the wind scam will cost you,big time!

Learn the facts. Knowledge is "Power"

Tip of the hat to ZAVIER!!!!!!!!!!!!!

jeffrey - wind energy seems to be commercially-viable enough for foreign companies to invest BILLIONS of dollars annually into it, at an acceptable rate of return. Do you know what that return is? Have you checked? Do you know how much electricity is produced at an average wind farm in the northeast? The midwest? As for subsidies for wind, I can only point to the lack of full disclosure in the cost of current generation methods. If we paid the full cost of electricity, including cleanup and environmental damage costs in our monthly bills, you would soon find wind energy to be the cheapest of all sources. And the fuel is free.

Try paying the full cost of natural gas generation, by eliminating 100% of the carbon dioxide emissions it produces. Try removing the NOx and SOx from coal plants' emissions - that cost is currently not being paid by the consumer - it will be paid by all of us taxpayers down the road. Have you seen the effects of mercury on our rivers, and acid rain on our spruce forests? Try compensating a landowner for the lost value of a timber stand. I'm no bleeding heart, but when you compare the actual costs, wind comes out way ahead. Thus, some liberal policy makers decided it was ok to subsidize the industry as a compensation for the unadjusted, low prices of the competitive methods. At least you know the full cost of wind up front - and the price paid by consumers is competitive at the meter.

We do not know th efull cost of wind up front. As an example the scam that Enron did on California. It is being implemented here in ME. 1) close power plants 2) export energy 3) hike prices.

That is what ME has in store. Two power plants have been closed by Iso New England. Energy is exported with plans to export even more. The price hike will come after we get our new transmission lines.

The energy from wind is unreliable. We will be like California.

-Wind future said:"As for "community-owned", that is great, if communities can come up with the $300-400 million needed to build them, and had the know-how to ensure they actually turn the expected profit. Wind energy is a great alternative, and a PART of the mix needed to ensure enough supply in the future. The companies that invest in these projects are legitimate, and have years of experience in most cases in developing projects.

If more American companies wanted to get involved, I would be in favor of that as well. What really puzzles me is why a state like Maine, with declining industries and a poor economy, is so darned choosy over companies who want to invest literally billions of dollars into the local tax base and jobs base."

-

That came across to me as a little condesending toward community wind and exagerated. A community wind project is up to 10MW (6-10 turbines) which is only about $20-30 Milliion. There are a lot of resources available for communities to get some know-how such as http://www.windustry.org/communitywind , but you're right, the companies with experience are the best prepared for successful projects. Sounds to me like there could be quite a market for wind project consulting if any of your fellow wind developers were inclined to offer such services in Maine.

As we can see in these comments, there are some questionable companies which should make some folks choosy. As Mainers who may have a wind project on our land, or in our town, we should be choosy. Now if only a small Maine company with some wind experience would take a different approach to development, there would be more successful projects, more tax base & jobs, happier landowners and neighbors. The differrent aproach is community-wind where the community is a stakeholder. Without that approach, every potential project is going to be a rediculous battle of exagerations back and forth like many of the comments above.

"Industrial wind technology is a meretricious commodity, attractive in a superficial way but without real value—seemingly plausible, even significant but actually false and nugatory. Those who would profit from it either economically or ideologically are engaged in wholesale deception. For in contrast to their alluring but empty promises of closed coal plants and reduced carbon emissions is this reality: Wind energy is impotent while its environmental footprint is massive and malignant.

A wind project with a rated capacity of 100MW, for example, with 40 skyscraper-sized turbines, would likely produce an annual average of only 27MW, an imperceptible fraction of energy for most grid systems. More than 60% of the time, it would produce less than 27MW and, at peak times, often produce nothing. It would rarely achieve its rated capacity, producing most at times of least demand. Whatever it generated would be continuously skittering, intensifying, magnifying the destabilizing effects of demand fluctuations, for wind volatility is virtually indistinguishable from the phenomenon of people whimsically turning their appliances off and on.

Moreover, the project could never produce capacity value—specified amounts of energy on demand, something that should be anathema to regulatory agencies, with their task of ensuring reliable, secure, affordable electricity. The ability of machines to perform as expected on demand is the basis of modernity, underlying contemporary systems of economic growth, wealth creation and well-being. Machinery that doesn’t do this is quickly discarded, although this wasn't the case for much of history (look at the early days of television or radio or even the automobile). Only in the last hundred years or so have has the West come to rely on machines with this standard. Capacity value allows society to go from pillar to post in accordance with its own schedule. Wind provides no capacity value and can pass no test for reliability; one can never be sure how much energy it will produce for any future time. And generating units that don't provide capacity value cannot be reasonably—and favorably—compared with those that do. "

J Boone

The wind power industry will rape every mountaintop we have, if we let them. This has the potential to be the largest travesty to happen to our mountain environment ever. One carbon free nuclear plant= 8500 windmills.

Windmills belong on farms and in the ocean.

Does wind power reduce foreign oil dependence?

- Wind turbines produce electricity, but only 1% of American electricity comes from oil.

- Producing electricity with wind doesn't help because electricity isn't coming from oil.

- Even if wind could produce all our electricity, it wouldn't impact oil.

Industrial wind has no impact on foreign oil dependence or consumption.

Does wind power reduce carbon emissions?

- When wind blows traditional power plants are throttled back slightly, but not shut off.

- They are kept running to be ready when the wind slows.

- Fuel consumption and c02 emissions continue even as wind turbines produce electricity.

Industrial wind power has no meaningful impact on carbon emissions, and zero impact in areas serviced by hydro or nuclear power.

Is wind power really clean and renewable energy?

- Industrial wind alone cannot replace traditional methods of power generation because the wind is uncontrollable.

- Industrial wind can only supply additional energy to the grid, it cannot supply modern reliable power.

-Wind power provides only extra energy, it does not produce baseload electricity.

Industrial wind power is only as clean and renewable as the traditional power source it supplements.

Does wind power create "green" jobs?

- On average 1 low-paid maintenance worker is employed for every 12-15 turbines.

- Turbines are manufactured overseas and assembled onsite by specialized firms.

Industrial wind power creates jobs in foreign countries, but not at wind factories.

It would appear that there are a few educated people on this thread that realize Maine is getting screwed big time. Wake up, Mainers, you're state is being ruined by these ugly monstronsities.

Like ive said before why do they put there money into new generators at the dams we have now i bet that would make more power an you cant see them eather

My biggest complaint is " I don't have a windmill in my view but my property has lost 30% of it's value in three years". I want my windmill!!!!

There is no one way to make everybody happy about ways to produce clean safe energy.

I do not see anything wrong with wind power. It's clean,safe and renewable. so whats the problem. Is it the big towers sticking out of the landscape,or is it the footprint that the wind turbines have.

Get over it people. Would you rather have a wind tower or a fossil fuel plant to produce the power we need. If I had the land to put up a wind generator I would be proud to erect one. Give it a chance and stop being a bleeding heart or tree huger and think about the other choice you have. Natural gas or oil fired power plant.

I say full speed ahead with wind power.

A misled legislature put into law Maine’s “Expedited Wind Process”, which has a goal of putting thousands of 400’ tall noisy turbines on our mountains and ridges. If this goal is realized, the annual “CO2 emissions avoided” will be equal to approximately the amount of CO2 sequestered in a single year by about 2% of Maine’s forest cover. This is a function of two things – first wind produces very little net electricity and second, Maine is the most forest covered state (89%) in the nation.

We are also a very low population density state and thus do not produce a large amount of CO2 compared to many places. Additionally, we are already very high into low or no CO2 electricity sources such as hydro and biomass.

As the most forested state in the U.S., Maine shouldn't have to destroy its "Quality of Place" with gargantuan turbines and new mammoth statewide transmission lines if it is already so extraordinarily ahead in the CO2 sequestration game compared to most places, some of which have forest cover of under 10%. Thus, the cookie cutter one size fits all mandates of 20% renewables ordained for Maine by our governments best social engineers simply don't make sense in Maine.

If Maine wants to contribute even more to reducing its carbon footprint the number one thing it can do is pursue weatherization of its drafty housing stock, the oldest in the nation.

Presently there are massive subsidies going into wind “farms” in Maine. Additionally, the company that is the biggest wind (subsidy) “farmer” in Maine, First Wind, was just given $115 million in stimulus funds. A gift, not a loan. If that money were put into weatherization instead, infinitely more carbon would be avoided. But because big wind’s lobbyists are more persuasive than “Joe the Weatherizer”, wind gets the money at the expense of all else. In this way, the support of wind is having the unexpected consequence of more CO2 rather than less in the atmosphere.

Does wind power reduce foreign oil dependence?

- Wind turbines produce electricity, but only 1% of American electricity comes from oil.

- Producing electricity with wind doesn't help because electricity isn't coming from oil.

- Even if wind could produce all our electricity, it wouldn't impact oil.

Industrial wind has no impact on foreign oil dependence or consumption.

Does wind power reduce carbon emissions?

- When wind blows traditional power plants are throttled back slightly, but not shut off.

- They are kept running to be ready when the wind slows.

- Fuel consumption and c02 emissions continue even as wind turbines produce electricity.

Industrial wind power has no meaningful impact on carbon emissions, and zero impact in areas serviced by hydro or nuclear power.

Is wind power really clean and renewable energy?

- Industrial wind alone cannot replace traditional methods of power generation because the wind is uncontrollable.

- Industrial wind can only supply additional energy to the grid, it cannot supply modern reliable power.

-Wind power provides only extra energy, it does not produce baseload electricity.

Industrial wind power is only as clean and renewable as the traditional power source it supplements.

Does wind power create "green" jobs?

- On average 1 low-paid maintenance worker is employed for every 12-15 turbines.

- Turbines are manufactured overseas and assembled onsite by specialized firms.

Industrial wind power creates jobs in foreign countries, but not at wind factories.

Sending US tax dollars to China and Brazil and elsewhere makes no sense. Grant money that can be used by Iberdrola from the US tax payor is being looked into closely. THe Wind industry in non-viable economically, and never will be. It is the elite investors that are the real benefactors, like Angus King and son, all geting on the gravy train. Mianers electric rates are on the increase for sure because of it.

Talk to US Senator Schumer, the game is up. Sending US taxpayor dollars to overseas wind manufacturers, outrageous!

These environmental groups make ME sick! The want to have their cake and eat it, too, but they can't have it both ways- they decry the use of oil but they don't want wind power, they don't want nuclear power, they don't want the logging industry, and on and on. They are never satisfied. They need to shut up and quit whining until they can offer viable, cost effective alternatives.

so correct! maine is installing it not asking whether or not it is the best idea.......... money hungry pigs!!!

Hey Nurse 54, do you work for First Wind or do you stand to charge big rent to wind companies after selling out your neighbors?

Italian finance police, mounting an operation code named "Gone with the wind", yesterday said they had arrested two of the country's most prominent businessmen in the wind energy sector. Police said the charges related to fraud involved in obtaining public subsidies to construct wind farms. They are also investigating the sale of wind farms to foreign companies.

There was a "hearing" in Lee prior to the Steson Mt windfarm being built. A panel of LURC commissioners sat on the stage. A group of First Wind people were down at the front of the auditorium. First Wind could take as long as they wanted to extol the wonders of a wind farm. We , who live in the area, had from 3 to 5 minutes to speak.

The question was asked."Has a traditional power plant ever been closed after a wind farm was built?" No one answered the question. This is the whole reason that the wind people are pushing for the need! Get away from foreign oil. No one answered the question because the answer is no. Not one coal or gas power plant has ever been closed down as a result of wind farms.

There was a "hearing" in Lee prior to the Steson Mt windfarm being built. A panel of LURC commissioners sat on the stage. A group of First Wind people were down at the front of the auditorium. First Wind could take as long as they wanted to extol the wonders of a wind farm. We , who live in the area, had from 3 to 5 minutes to speak.

The question was asked."Has a traditional power plant ever been closed after a wind farm was built?" No one answered the question. This is the whole reason that the wind people are pushing for the need! Get away from foreign oil. No one answered the question because the answer is no. Not one coal or gas power plant has ever been closed down as a result of wind farms.

There was a "hearing" in Lee prior to the Steson Mt windfarm being built. A panel of LURC commissioners sat on the stage. A group of First Wind people were down at the front of the auditorium. First Wind could take as long as they wanted to extol the wonders of a wind farm. We , who live in the area, had from 3 to 5 minutes to speak.

The question was asked."Has a traditional power plant ever been closed after a wind farm was built?" No one answered the question. This is the whole reason that the wind people are pushing for the need! Get away from foreign oil. No one answered the question because the answer is no. Not one coal or gas power plant has ever been closed down as a result of wind farms.

First Wind swindle has just committed another heist

by James Hall

Naples Record September 9, 2009 publication

At the risk of insulting the Bard of Avon, Mark Anthony

is screaming from the grave. “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me

your ears.” For far too any years, the citizens of Western New York remained

silent in the face of he most politically protected criminal organized scheme

to defraud the taxpayer and electric ratepayer in our history.

In the 9/1/09 Democratic and Chronicle business section,

the following article appeared – Southern Tier wind farm gets $74.6 million in grants.

First Wind using two of their deceptive shell LLC,

Canandaigua Power Partner I & II, was awarded by the Department of Energy,

$74.6 million in federal stimulus grants. That is YOUR money, or better put; it is

one further liability that will require more borrowing from foreign

lenders to finance an exploding national debt. This offense stinks of a stench

that can be masked no longer with slick TV ads and messianic evangelism of a

twisted ‘PC Green’ religion.

The Cohocton First Wind project simply DOES NOT WORK !!!

Even naive leaseholders had that reality pressed home

when their meager July payment was absent of their 2.5% electric production

amount. Simply put, theFirst Wind project did not generate any significant

electricity for sale to the grid. Even the Byzantine NYS ISO records

show that the CPP I & CPP II, are not grid ready to supply all those

bogus claims of bountiful energy.

All summer long the third major refurbish of failed

Clipper turbine components continues. It comes as no surprise when you

see the blades stand silent in a windless season.

So why would the Obama administration bestow such a huge

gift, which is more than 28% of the disclosed SEC S1 IPO application original

cost of the project, to First Wind? The D & C reporter Steve Orr

provides part of the answer: “First Wind has ties to the administration of

President Barack Obama. A New York City hedge fund, D.E. Shaw & Co., is a major

investor in First Wind, according to statements issued in recent years by

First Wind. Lawrence H. Summers, who now heads Obama's National Economic

Council, was a compensated managing director at D.E. Shaw before leaving

late last year. The firm's founder, David E. Shaw, is a member of

Obama's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.”

At the 9/3/09 Hornell Town Meeting, Congressman Eric

Massa expressed his profound outrage with this despicable and unconscionable

abuse of public funds. He vowed to initiate a GAO investigation into the

issuance of the grant, hoping to block the funds.

If this example of ‘special interest’ cronyism is not enough, prepare

yourself for the next application to the DOE. Clipper Windpower has applied

for a $300,000,000 federal loan guarantee. Yes, you

guessed it – so that they can pay for the repairs to the 50 Cohocton Liberty 2.5 MG

turbines!

The favored and protected status of First Wind has been

visible at every step n the sordid process of defrauding ordinary Americans.

This wicked Caesar is a creature of Goldman Sachs and their Wall Street Cap

and Trade proponents . Friends and countrymen, will you finally join the fight?

For the Republic to survive, the likes of First Wind need to be buried. “Brutus is an honourable man”, ARE YOU?

James Hall

Cohocton Wind Watch

It's amazing that the anti-wind folks will dispute facts and data, claim that anyone supporting wind energy is working for first wind, say they are open minded and show that open-mindedness by using posts from windwatch or windaction. These types of actions just make no sense to me. I would like to know if any the opposition folks have ever been to a wind farm or talked to the people who actually work on them.