Hopefully, interest will wane to the point where the money now being wasted on these expensive inefficient albatrosses can be spent on:

Drilling, refining & distributing the oil this country has.

Drilling & distributing the endless supply of natural gas this country has.

Building hydro dams.

Building nuke plants.

Fostering the growth of wood pellet energy.

Like man-induced global warming, like govt run healthcare & so forth & so on, wind energy is liberal hype. Wind turbines do not provide a means for cost effective energy production. Common sense is needed, the 5 examples above wean us from foreign oil & can put millions back to work. Crooked politicians need to do the right thing & discontinue wind power development, it’s a hoax.

We are going to be in big trouble as a country if we keep building up debt for our children and grandchildren so that feelgood energy solutions which don't work can enrich a handful of subsidy sucking thieves that have figured out the latest way to pick our pockets. Moreover it basically seems that the Bangor Daily News acknowledges the terrible burdens these jet noise producing turbine complexes put on nearby citizens, but then advocates that everyone else turn their backs on them for a few dollars.

Abbreviated Chronology

1/27/05

Maine Public Utilities Commission, Report on the viability of wind power development

http://www.maine.gov/doc/mfs/windpower/reference.shtml

4/7/05

Governor John Baldacci today announced the nomination of his Chief Legal Counsel, Kurt Adams, to serve as a member of the Public Utilities Commission (PUC).

http://www.maine.gov/tools/whatsnew/attach.php?id=6363&an=1

5/8/07

Executive Order Establishing the Governor's Task Force on Wind Power Development in Maine - identifying barriers to wind power development

http://www.maine.gov/doc/mfs/windpower/exec_order.shtml

9/10/07

Kurt Adams, head of the PUC, at a meeting about how to build 2000 MW of wind power in Maine presents "Wind in the Context of Regional Markets".

http://www.maine.gov/doc/mfs/windpower/agenda.shtml

5/1/08

Kurt Adams has resigned as chairman of the state’s Public Utilities Commission. Adams will join First Wind, formerly UPC Wind, a national wind development company, as senior vice president for transmission development.

http://news.mainetoday.com/updates/026385.html

7/15/08

ATTORNEY GENERAL CUOMO LAUNCHES INVESTIGATION INTO WIND POWER COMPANIES' CONDUCT ACROSS UPSTATE NEW YORK

Allegations of Improper Dealings with Public Officials and Anti-Competitive Practices

Subpoenas Served on First Wind/UPC Wind and Noble Environmental Power, LLC

http://www.ag.ny.gov/media_center/2008/jul/july15a_08.html

10/30/08

ATTORNEY GENERAL CUOMO ESTABLISHES CODE OF CONDUCT FOR WIND ENERGY COMPANIES OPERATING IN NEW YORK

Noble Environmental Power and First Wind first to sign Wind Industry Ethics Code

http://www.ag.ny.gov/media_center/2008/oct/oct30a_08.html

9/11/09

US Rep Erica Massa (D-NY) sends letter to President Obama asking that First Wind stimulus gift be revoked and that GAO investigation be launched. Excerpts would include "...deceptively operate on behalf of First Wind which is currently under investigation by NYS Attorney General Andrew Cuomo for corruption charges across the northeast. ...buasiness model of lie, cheat and corrupt at the expense of taxpayers"

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

12/3/09

It becomes extremely evident at the PUC public hearing in Gorham regarding the $1.5 Billion CMP transmission upgrade request, that the primary reason for the upgrade is to ensure reliability for wind farms. Thus, the entire cost must be added to the already increased cost of high priced wind-produced electricity to gain and understanding of the true negative financial impacts of wind power in Maine.

http://mpuc.informe.org/easyfile/easyweb.php?func=easyweb_splashpage Enter into the virtual case file in the case id block type:

2008255

1/2/10

"Asked about his plans after leaving office next January, Baldacci said he plans to stay involved in energy issues, perhaps in an advisory capacity. “It’s one [issue] that I am going to continue to be involved in. I feel very passionate about this,” he said.

http://www.bangordailynews.com/detail/133944.html

Yet all the while, our attorney general Janet Mills here in Maine dismisses repeated requests to create a code of conduct and/or investigate. And her sister, Maine's CDC director Dora Mills steadfastly denies the existence of the peer reviewed literature on wind's effects on human health.

There is a new Reader Poll at the Citizens' Task Force on Wind Power in Maine website. It only takes a moment of your time to complete. While admittedly unscientific, it will hopefully help directionally quantify Mainers' perceptions of wind power in Maine.

The link is: http://www.windtaskforce.org/photo/reader-poll?context=latest

From the keyoards of all of you to God's ear. This madness as to stop.

Noise is not the only issue with these monstrosities. To destroy the environment with mountain top removal, which is essentially what is happening, to save it with something that doesn't work is insane. Please read this recent article in Financial Post. It is very revealing about wind energy.

Wind Power Is A Complete Disaster

By Michael J. Trebilcock

There is no evidence that industrial wind power is likely to have a significant impact on carbon emissions. The European experience is instructive. Denmark, the world’s most wind-intensive nation, with more than 6,000 turbines generating 19% of its electricity, has yet to close a single fossil-fuel plant. It requires 50% more coal-generated electricity to cover wind power’s unpredictability, and pollution and carbon dioxide emissions have risen (by 36% in 2006 alone).

Flemming Nissen, the head of development at West Danish generating company ELSAM (one of Denmark’s largest energy utilities) tells us that “wind turbines do not reduce carbon dioxide emissions.” The German experience is no different. Der Spiegel reports that “Germany’s CO2 emissions haven’t been reduced by even a single gram,” and additional coal- and gas-fired plants have been constructed to ensure reliable delivery.

Indeed, recent academic research shows that wind power may actually increase greenhouse gas emissions in some cases, depending on the carbon-intensity of back-up generation required because of its intermittent character. On the negative side of the environmental ledger are adverse impacts of industrial wind turbines on birdlife and other forms of wildlife, farm animals, wetlands and viewsheds.

Industrial wind power is not a viable economic alternative to other energy conservation options. Again, the Danish experience is instructive. Its electricity generation costs are the highest in Europe (15¢/kwh compared to Ontario’s current rate of about 6¢). Niels Gram of the Danish Federation of Industries says, “windmills are a mistake and economically make no sense.” Aase Madsen , the Chair of Energy Policy in the Danish Parliament, calls it “a terribly expensive disaster.”

The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported in 2008, on a dollar per MWh basis, the U.S. government subsidizes wind at $23.34 — compared to reliable energy sources: natural gas at 25¢; coal at 44¢; hydro at 67¢; and nuclear at $1.59, leading to what some U.S. commentators call “a huge corporate welfare feeding frenzy.” The Wall Street Journal advises that “wind generation is the prime example of what can go wrong when the government decides to pick winners.”

The Economist magazine notes in a recent editorial, “Wasting Money on Climate Change,” that each tonne of emissions avoided due to subsidies to renewable energy such as wind power would cost somewhere between $69 and $137, whereas under a cap-and-trade scheme the price would be less than $15.

Either a carbon tax or a cap-and-trade system creates incentives for consumers and producers on a myriad of margins to reduce energy use and emissions that, as these numbers show, completely overwhelm subsidies to renewables in terms of cost effectiveness.

The Ontario Power Authority advises that wind producers will be paid 13.5¢/kwh (more than twice what consumers are currently paying), even without accounting for the additional costs of interconnection, transmission and back-up generation. As the European experience confirms, this will inevitably lead to a dramatic increase in electricity costs with consequent detrimental effects on business and employment. From this perspective, the government’s promise of 55,000 new jobs is a cruel delusion.

A recent detailed analysis (focusing mainly on Spain) finds that for every job created by state-funded support of renewables, particularly wind energy, 2.2 jobs are lost. Each wind industry job created cost almost $2-million in subsidies. Why will the Ontario experience be different?

In debates over climate change, and in particular subsidies to renewable energy, there are two kinds of green. First there are some environmental greens who view the problem as so urgent that all measures that may have some impact on greenhouse gas emissions, whatever their cost or their impact on the economy and employment, should be undertaken immediately.

Then there are the fiscal greens, who, being cool to carbon taxes and cap-and-trade systems that make polluters pay, favour massive public subsidies to themselves for renewable energy projects, whatever their relative impact on greenhouse gas emissions. These two groups are motivated by different kinds of green. The only point of convergence between them is their support for massive subsidies to renewable energy (such as wind turbines).

This unholy alliance of these two kinds of greens (doomsdayers and rent seekers) makes for very effective, if opportunistic, politics (as reflected in the Ontario government’s Green Energy Act), just as it makes for lousy public policy: Politicians attempt to pick winners at our expense in a fast-moving technological landscape, instead of creating a socially efficient set of incentives to which we can all respond.

Financial Post

Michael J. Trebilcock is Professor of Law and Economics, University of Toronto. These comments were excerpted from a submission last night to the Ontario government’s legislative committee On Bill 150.

What the story fails to mention is that benefits for local communities in excess of the amounts proposed in the new bill are already being paid - the bill is a solution in search of a problem.

Mountaintop removal for wind turbines? Take a look at the coal mountains of West Virginia and then talk about mountaintop removal. The fact is, if you want the mountain protected forever, buy it and place a conservation easement on it. The yard under your house was once timberland - poor trees had to go.

I just love waking up to the moonbats who decry the deforestation caused by wind turbines, yet ignore the slow killing of our forests over time from acid rain and other pollutants caused by the power industry and others in the midwest and midatlantic states. And I'm all for a nuke plant - let me know where you live so I can put one next door. Or perhaps we could build the Big A and Dickey Lincoln hydro projects after all - I mean, it's just the Allagash, no big deal!!

When you cut through the BS in the editorial and the first few comments, wind is a fantastic solution that has been used for energy for literally thousands of years. All of a sudden the modern world can't grasp what a simple miller in a windy spot could figure out centuries ago - the wind blows and provides the means for power. All we have to do is harness it.

Jet turbine noise? Please - you obviously have never heard one of these gentle giants.

Some subtle inferences brought to light? Large wind developers enjoying developments in small towns with well meaning but unequipped local town officials, often with no zoning or ordinances. Mill's solution, make them buy us off? They've been doing that. Money spread through out the communities, promise of some jobs, NO CAREERS, all for trading off the beauty that is norther/central rural Maine's finest asset.

One thing I like is we'd get to know how much the turbines ACTUALLY produce, not what they optimally COULD produce. I have a feeling we'd get a lot more money if we go for the COULD, MAYBE, SOMETIMES optimal kilowatt output.

So we've EXPEDITED wind turbine industrial development in our vast LURC controlled wilderness, thus minimizing permitting safe guards and public hearings and input, but we'll get some cash for the state to decide how to spend.

The concensus, with the exception of a very few, is to reverse course and stop building these expensive, under-producing eyesores. Sledman said it all in the first comment, and many others added greatly to the argument against wind power and its cost and lack of return. We need to drill for oil and natural gas, build nuclear plants, and quit these stupid, expensive, under-producing alternatives. We need to grow a backbone and do what's best for the American people. But, with the piles of waste in DC and the state house, we'll have to replace them before we can get anything done right.

2010 and 2012. Stop the corruption or put the shakles on your feet. It's your choice. I choose to live free or die.

"Sledman's" comment seems more against the concept of generating electricity from the wind, rather than a direct response to the above editorial. But, he offers the alternative that, "Drilling, refining & distributing the oil this country has". Well, perhaps that might help. But, that means off-shore drilling and drilling in the Alaskan Native Wildlife Reserve, which raises objections from the environmental fanatics. Then he recommends "Drilling & distributing the endless supply of natural gas this country has". Unlike the wind, natural gas can not be regarded as an "endless supply". Besides this alternative would involve a major upscale of pipeline, which again raises objections from the environmental fanatics. So, then he offers the "Building of hydro dams". It seems to me that for the last 40 years, they've been decommissioning and breaching hydro dams everywhere to enable the resurrection of the fisheries to the delight of sportsmen and the environmental fanatics. And, the last part of his equation is to "build nuclear plants". I not only give you, "Three Mile Island" in 1979, but Chernobyl in 1986. Both produced an uproar within the environmental community, and a band wagon upon which nearly every politician jumped on board. So, if it turns out wind power cannot be part of the overall solution to public demand for power, than there remains one obvious alternative---simply turn out the lights!

Windfuture- Its looking like there is no wind future! Better get out now....who are the moonbats now? Even the BDN is starting to tell the truth! Gotta love that!!!

Windfuture.

"When you cut through the BS in the editorial and the first few comments, wind is a fantastic solution that has been used for energy for literally thousands of years. All of a sudden the modern world can't grasp what a simple miller in a windy spot could figure out centuries ago - the wind blows and provides the means for power. All we have to do is harness it."

One major problem with "wind" is that it CAN'T be harnessed. There is no way to store the energy produced for use when it is needed, not when it needs to be produced by turbines, which is when the wind blows, which is completely unpredictable.

9:20 AM, windfuture wrote:killing of our forests over time from acid rain

That ship has sailed. Acid rain has been pretty successfully reduced due to some better policies. One actual success story from regulation and legislation initiatives.

Check out You Tube for the reaction to the turbines on Vinalhaven: (Parts I and II)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtGijb_oNeQ&feature=player_embedded

and

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bw4S98SYHiE&feature=related

These turbines are most definitely a problem and the days of the industry in Maine are rapidly ebbing.

By the way, they are the sole reason for the absolutely gargantuan powerlines that Baldacci wants to go up all over the state. So the thousands of folks who have been fighting these monsters in their backyards need to connect the dots and realize their real enemy are the wind farms Baldacci is pushing for his friends. He will go down in history as a sorry embarrassment and may very well be sporting orange attire when this thing is fully analyzed.

From "Windmills Of The Netherlands." How appropriate (except for the very photogenic part.)

"As steam power developed, the uncertain power of the wind became less and less economic, and we are left today with a tiny fraction of the elegant structures that once extracted power from the wind. These remaining windmills, scattered througout the world, are a historic, and certainly very photogenic, reminder of a past technological age."

Don't forget that these things kill birds and bats.

Oh yeah -- our deserts are off limits for the placement of solar panels too. Can't have an eyesore in the desert.

The only thing left that makes any sense about Big Wind is tax relief but....."The revenue generated COULD be applied to lowering property taxes in the host community and perhaps nearby communities, if they are affected. A portion of the revenue also SHOULD go to the state to help defray regulatory costs." to quote the article.... Can't tell you how many those of us involved or searching out the truth in this heard that. Then all those who signed discovered that COULD and SHOULD act as escape clauses in contracts. They are discretionary words. When have you heard lately of a company offering to turn could or should into WILL!!!!!!! That is so rare it is like 10 of a species in the world. Wake up people! Their job is to find big money and or take it and in this there are apparently no holds barred.

From an article written by a Vinalhaven resident who was most gung-ho about wind power until she realized that the islanders had been lied to:

"Amongst the participants were many of us who are neighbors of the turbines. Although our group overwhelmingly supported the project, we now live with the daily presence of turbine noise, 24/7. As one of the Fox Islands Wind Neighbors (FIWN) recently noted, "We support the windmills, but not the noise." The noise is as constant as the wind, building in intensity according to wind speed and direction. It can be a low rumbling, whooshing, grinding background noise that one can just hear above the sound of the trees or it can build to an in-your-face noise, like jet engines roaring combined with a grinding and pulsating sound that echoes in your head, keeps you awake at night, and beats on your house like a drum.

As neighbors of the wind turbines, we find ourselves in the midst of an unexpected, unwanted life crisis. When GE flipped the switch and the turbines began to turn, island life as we knew it evaporated.

As I watched the first rotation of the giant blades from our deck, my sense of wonder was replaced by disbelief and utter shock as the turbine noise revved up and up, past the sound of our babbling brook, to levels unimagined. It was not supposed to be this way! During informational meetings, on the Fox Islands Wind website, in private conversations, and with personal correspondence, we were all told that ambient noise from the surrounding area would cover the sound of the turbines. This was our expectation. The Fox Islands Wind August 31 cover letter to the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) explained, "When the turbines are generating higher sound levels, background noise will be higher as well, masking the sound of the turbines." On the Fox Islands Wind Web site FAQ we read, "The blades passing through the air can make a ‘whooshing' sound and mechanical parts or unusual wind currents can produce a steady ‘hum' or ‘whine.' However, ambient noise is usually louder than any noise produced by wind turbines and modern wind turbines are significantly quieter than older models."

It is very clear to us, that life as we know it on Vinalhaven has changed irrevocably.

Before any other island community takes the step towards wind power, come to Vinalhaven and see for yourselves the consequences of those actions. Come to our meetings. Come stand on our porches, listen to the nonstop roaring, thumping, whooshing, grinding sounds of the turbines, and compare it to the quiet you currently experience."

The URL for the Vinalhaven resident's account was inadvetently omitted. It is: http://www.workingwaterfront.com/online-exclusives/Opinion/13571/

It is a flim flam SCAM

It is a SELF- SERVER SCAM of Political Elite in Maine

It occurred because of Voter Political and Scientific Apathy

Mainers Will get higher electrical costs with it if not stopped IMMEDIATELY.

Mainers will loose at every turn.

NOW IT IS HURTING THEM Physically in Vianalhaven, Mars Hill, Freedom..

Everywhere it goes...it will show no benefits to average Mainers

THe Power Eilite will be the only ones to BENEFIT...

Baldacci lined up his retirement with it

Angus King lined up his retirement with it.

Angus King's son lined up a good job with First Wind with it.

Every one who is affilitated with it directly gets large bucks,

AND THEY WANT YOU TO GET 5 dollars off your TAX BIll

GET OUT OF HERE, BIG WIND, bLOW YOUR CRAP somewhere ...!

BIG WIND...THE SELF SERVER'S PERSONAL SCAM

ON ALL OF MAINE......!!!

Baldacci

KING

ADAMS

HINCK

McLeod

Fitts

and , on, and on......and on

Election Time , 2010...thank goodness...

Get riid of the scoundrals where possible, and GET RID OF FIRST WIND and THE WIND MAFIA! of MAINE!!

Such a Deal, Angus King stands to make from 10-50 miillion

You get 5 bucks off your property tax, MADE UP BY $500 buck increase in YOUR ELECTRIC BILL!!!!

Mainer, SCREWED again....

IF YOU LET IT HAPPEN....Screwed by policies again started in DISGUSTA!

KICK OUT BIG WIND, get rid of the Big Scam FROM MAINE...NOW!!!

Zavier , you left Abbott the Cianbro sock puppet off your list as he is the Bald ones likely replacement if the Elitists get their way..Cianbro stands to make millions as well...And on and on it goes...A couple more for you to chew on..WMTW TV channel 8: Anchorwoman Tory Ryden's husband is a lawyer for First Wind

WGME TV channel 13: Anchorwoman Kim Block husband works with First Wind...Check out this...I hope BDN doesn't mind...http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=312312&ac=PHnws&pg=2

oops forgot one more....

First Wind is owned by two hedge funds: D. E. Shaw and Marshton Dearborn. Both have extensive connections to the Obama Administration.

Specifically, David Shaw is the founder of D.E.Shaw. He is now employed in the Obama Administration.

Lawrence Summers worked at D.E. Shaw after he left Harvard and before he was employed in the Obama Administration. While employed by D. E. Shaw Lawrence was paid $5.2 million for six months of work.

Hi windfuture.. how is the real estate biz going? I think you are the one who sold and leased land in Mars Hill to the windsprawl scammers, so I understand your undying support. Denmark has increased CO2 35 % since their 6000 turbines began making power (and noise). Denmark's average electric bill has doubled. How can Maine ratepayers be expected to afford windsprawlpower when it is always at least 2 times more expensive? We can't!! HydroQuebec could supply Maine with cheaper power. I have heard no arguments against them, except that Baldacci's buddies at BH and CMP and who knows whom else do not want the competition because they would make less money. They want Mainers paying high rates. Maine does not need obsolete windsprawl for energy. We do need elected officials who realize they are in a position to serve and will do what is best for the people, and not feather their own nests at the citizens' expense. Our elected ones need to start investigating wild claims by any developers and verify their claims. When problems arise a moratorium should happen until the problems are resolved, not bought out or ignored. If a company "extrapolates" data that in itself is a red flag. When a company cannot compete without TIFs, gov. handouts and expedited processes you can bet they are no good for anything. They are wasting our oxygen.

***THE MAJESTIC TOWERS***

It is so sad when every one complains about the wind towers If I had my way I'd let them put one right n my yard.........At least three times a week I go and sit and watch the towers on Stetson Mts......they are so peaceful to just watch and so far I have never been bothered by the so called noise level you all seem to be hearing??? I have never seen one dead bird or bat from flying into them.............I see Deer ,Moose and Bear by them this fall and they was grazing on the left over grass that was there for them to eat...........One day if you all realize it or not we will have to resort to a different type of power as gas, oil , coal and yes even wood are going to be gone or so high in price or for a fact obsolete then what will you all do????????????? USE THE WIND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Times change as we all do but it is so hard to get people to accept the changes and until they ever do there always be a~~~ Bear in the road~~~ as the ole saying goes................Stay safe everyone and have a good day~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`