VINALHAVEN, Maine — Neighbors of three wind turbines on this island will get a hearing in court to see whether Fox Island Wind’s plan to quiet its turbines is stringent enough.
Although court documents state there were two nights in July 2010 that the Vinalhaven turbines were too noisy, the problem has persisted, according to the Fox Island Wind Neighbors, a group of about 15 people who filed a lawsuit in July 2011 in Kennebec County Superior Court seeking to nullify a June 2011 Department of Environmental Protection order against the wind power project developer. The group wants the court to institute an earlier version of the order developed by DEP staff that imposed tougher compliance requirements.
Fox Islands Wind asked the court to throw the case out but Kennebec County Superior Court Justice Michaela Murphy ruled March 20 the case will not be dismissed.
Now the court may hear arguments on the legality of the conditional compliance order.
The three turbines slipped out of compliance at least two nights in July 2010 by exceeding the 45 decibel noise limit set by the Board of Environmental Protection, according to court records.
After the noise problem was reported, Fox Islands Wind had to submit a plan to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection explaining how it would fix the problem.
The DEP approved the plan and gave the wind company a conditional compliance order.
The neighbors group was not satisfied by the corrective plan and filed the lawsuit.
According to court documents, DEP staff in April 2011 planned to order Fox Islands Wind to demonstrate that it was operating within the noise limits for three months and then again every five years. The DEP also would have made the company post all operational, sound and meteorological data online for the public to see.
In June, under a new commissioner, the DEP redrafted the compliance order, taking out parts that would make the wind company demonstrate compliance and post the information online.
The neighbors group said that decision was “politically motivated, arbitrary and capricious, contrary to law, unsupported by substantial evidence, and the product of an abuse of discretion,” court documents state. The Fox Island Wind Neighbors pointed out that new DEP Commissioner, Patricia Aho, had worked at Pierce Atwood, the same firm that represents Fox Islands Wind.
“That [new] version of the compliance order insulated Fox Islands Wind from accountability. That’s when we took it to court. They tried to throw it out and the judge said no way,” said Rufus Brown, attorney for Fox Islands Wind Neighbors.
Brown said he also is filing First Amendment claims in court that the DEP intentionally has made it difficult for the neighbors group to file complaints about the wind turbine noise and that the DEP did not enforce noise rules after complaints were made.
Since those days in July 2010 when the turbines were too noisy at night, the wind company has been working at reduced capacity, which makes less energy, said Chip Farrington, who runs the wind co-op and is also on the Fox Islands Wind management committee.
Fox Islands Wind had General Electric add serrated edges to the turbine blades last autumn.
“They look like shark fins and that mitigates noise without decreasing the power; that dropped the noise by two decibels,” Farrington said.
The community-supported Fox Islands Wind facility began operating in October 2009 in an effort to reduce high electricity costs on the islands of Vinalhaven and North Haven. Supporters claim the facility has helped lower costs and continues to enjoy the strong backing of most island residents.
a reduction of 50% in the power of the sound is always a 3 dB reduction, whether it’s from 100 to 97 dB, or from 10 to 7 dB. so a 2 db reduction is actually quite a achievement.
The three turbines slipped out of compliance at least two nights in July 2010 by exceeding the 45 decibel noise limit set by the Board of Environmental Protection, according to court records. – OK 45 db isn’t much , were these infractions produced when a storm was present? what other factors are we missing in this story . I prefer to run the numbers and leave the politics out.. so how loud did these things really get, and why was is for only 2 or 3 days? plus was the meter listening to the windmill or a blustery wind blowing? or both? does anyone know what it was measuring ?
How about naming names , who actually owns Fox Island Wind ? Does the state of Maine , through taxpayer subsidies , pay this company to annoy some neighbors ? As Paul Harvery used to say how about the “rest of the story” ?
A comment poster on here that goes by “Friends of FIW” (Fox Island Wind) should arrive on the scene any moment now. Ask them your questions. They directly represent the developer’s interest. Though you have to take what they say with a grain of salt, as FIW doesn’t believe it’s all that bad to disrupt and displace some neighbors as long as others who are not affected get a reduction in their power bills – which I don’t believe they’ve actually experienced to date. The classic case of “Not In My Backyard, but it’s OK if it’s in yours if I benefit from it”.
We continue to receive benefits from our community-owned project in the form of lower utility rates, stable power and long term confidence that we are less dependent on the energy markets than before the project went online.
All at the expense of some of your neighbors. I’m very glad that you’re consistent with your message as it continues to show your true colors!
How many neighbors Bigwind? And are those neighbors living closest to the project? Do they depend on the island for work and to raise a family? Are those neighbors speaking truthfully about the situation on the island? Have those neighbors lied about the fact they had an attorney and were suing the good people of our towns? Do those neighbors continue to refuse to talk with their community?
Wow, after a couple years of professional sound testing and monitoring by everyone from the state BEP, to the litigants, and hired professionals, and you haven’t learned one of the most basic truths about wind turbine noise or noise in general. Distance from the source doesn’t tell the whole story and is not an accurate predicter of various types of noise. Stop all the crap about having others “closer to the turbines that aren’t affected”. That’s BS and you know it. Also, it’s pretty much common knowledge that diffent people are affected in different degrees and different ways by noise.
I’ve got a 93 year old aunt who is stone cold deaf, maybe you could convine her to come out there and buy one of your mitigation purchased homes!
“I’ve got a 93 year old aunt who is stone cold deaf, maybe you could convine her to come out there and buy one of your mitigation purchased homes!”
You’d fall all to pieces if you were one of the billions of people on the planet who live in a town or a city, and who aren’t left whimpering and wringing their hands if there are sounds in the middle of the night, or a red light blinking in the distance.
Not taking sides, and glad I don’t live next to a wind turbine, frankly. But for 19 years, before moving to Maine, I lived 40 yards from a four lane highway, in a second story apartment, that only got quiet for 10 minutes at a time, from 1 am to 4 am on Monday morning. Then a truck would drive by, and you could hear it in the silence for a miles away.
So a lot of people’s complaints about noise, and once again, I’m not taking sides, come from what they expect and what they are used to.
I used to backpack a lot to get away from the suburban environment in NJ where I lived, but if I camped near a running stream or a gurgling brook, I found that the constant noise of the burbling brook bothered me as the hours progressed, more than the thousands of cars and trucks that passed by my apartment at commuting hours every day.
I guess I was going from the quiet of the backpacking trail to sleeping in a tent, just a few yards away from a brook and found the difference quite unsettling.
I really don’t know what the noise level inside my apartment was, but I’ll bet it was higher than the 45 decibel level, and of course, there were times I had my TV and stereo playing, and I’m sure that was higher than 45 decibels, also.
So I guess this issue is like all others, in that who benefits, and who is bothered, are two different groups of people, and nobody will ever agree. I guess it was the same with railroads and unsightly telephone/electric wires and poles.
As I said, I am not taking sides, but do feel bad to see a community torn apart like this. Best wishes for a satisfactory outcome for all parties.
Good comparison, but how is a community ‘torn apart’ when 98 % of both seasonal and year-round residents are supportive of our wind project and can attest to the very real benefits of the project. Despite what you read in the press, our community is not divided. Keep in mind what FIWN is. We’re talking about a small handful of very organized people with money who don’t work out here, who repeatedly have misinformed the public and who have sued the rest of us.
The
only answer , as can be seen here from the wind shills arrogant
responses to facts and reason , is to sue the perpetrators until they
all squeal!
Then Sue Some More, until compensation for the damages is obtained.More will donate to the legal cause.
Maine is a corrupt state as we know, a seething little place of elitistshaving their way for too long, like Baker et. al.
People are being forced from their homes by damages you created, and you will now pay. Uncompensated damages have a legal life of their own, until the damage is corrected.
It is no longer about the turbines.
It is about civil injustice and illegal taking.
You had you chance to settle, admit the damage, and pay.
Now that is over.
Now , tell it to judges, for a long time.$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$, you will lose.
Good luck to the damaged.
They will win.
The
only answer , as can be seen here from the wind shills arrogant
responses to facts and reason , is to sue the perpetrators until they
all squeal!
Then Sue Some More, until compensation for the damages is obtained.More will donate to the legal cause.
Maine is a corrupt state as we know, a seething little place of elitistshaving their way for too long, like Baker et. al.
People are being forced from their homes by damages you created, and you will now pay. Uncompensated damages have a legal life of their own, until the damage is corrected.
It is no longer about the turbines.
It is about civil injustice and illegal taking.
You had you chance to settle, admit the damage, and pay.
Now that is over.
Now , tell it to judges, for a long time.$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$, you will lose.
Good luck to the damaged.
They will win.
Leave it to Arthur to blurt out the true motivations of the anti-windys here … it’s all about well-to-do seasonal residents suing working islanders for all they’re worth.
Why have these 5-6 seasonal residents chosen litigation over working with the residents of our islands? Why do they continue to lie about what is really happening out here?
The only answer , as can be seen here from the wind shills arrogant responses to facts and reason , is to sue the perpetrators until they all squeal!
Then Sue Some More, until compensation for the damages is obtained.
More will donate to the legal cause.
Maine is a corrupt state as we know, a seething little place of elitists having their way for too long, like Baker et. al.
People are being forced from their homes by damages you created, and you will now pay.
Uncompensated damages have a legal life of their own, until the damage is corrected.
It is no longer about the turbines.
It is about civil injustice and illegal taking.
You had you chance to settle, admit the damage, and pay.
Now that is over.
Now , tell it to judges, for a long time.$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$, you will lose.
Good luck to the damaged.
They will win.
Suing a working community over a bunch of misinformation isn’t good policy.
The fact that some people are not disturbed by turbine noise is consistent with experience at many places where turbines have been installed. But one out of 7 people is 4 times as sensitive to low frequency noise than the average person. Those are the people who are sleep disturbed and suffer the ill effects of living too close to turbines. Just because they are in the minority does not negate their experience. These are the people that are most in need of protection. But the mentality at work here reminds me of how a bleeding chicken will be pecked to death by the other chickens.
Impeccable medical experts from around the world, including the doctors of the Maine Medical Association, have disputed the claim by anti-wind activists that there is any remarkable scientific link between windmills and ill health. In fact, MMA doctors have criticized the way anti-wind activists have distorted the record with baseless allegations about health impacts.
if you drive on a paved road, have been on a rail road, or use a cell phone, chances are you are benefiting from vacated property.
Coal lobby “warns” wind farms may blow Earth off orbit, solar power will cause sun to ‘run out’ ! News (on Fox) at 11:00.
http://youtu.be/F0UkH81NMTo
Fox Islands Wind is community-owned and controlled by the roughly 2,000 ratepayers of the Fox Islands, Vinalhaven and North Haven. And to your second question, No.
You can’t be correct on that because Friends of Fox Island Wind (the developer) just said up above that a 2 db reduction isn’t discernable by the human ear!!! Everyone on here can now see that Friends of FIW will say or do anything to protect their cherished wind turbines even at the expense of their neighbors, because after all, most are “just summer people”.
3 db is a 50% reduction in sound . . I don’t like wind ,but I strive to be equal and fair in reading these. Education of the reader is most important when forming a opinion. want a simple test ? find a iPhone ,and download a free app called “sound level”. then find something that’s close to 45 decibles. you will be astonished to find how quiet that is..now make a hum or noise to increase it 2 more db. you will find you can hear it quite well..
tuffnologies – you completely misinterpreted my comment. I was being sarcastic saying that your information can’t be correct, because the all knowing “Friends of FIW” in another comment above said unequivically that a 2db change wasn’t descernible by the human ear. I was mocking FIW’s comment not your knowledge.
My apologies, I didn’t see the sarcasm right off. I will edit my comment to be friendly!
Here’s a little secret, tufnoogies: BigWind is incapable of saying anything that doesn’t drip with sarcasm.
Even 3 DBA is classified as “barely perceptible”. That is unless you don’t depend on our island’s economy and are pursuing a lawsuit against our community and will do anything to win, even at the expense of working islanders. Shameful!
“Everyone on here can now see that Friends of FIW will say or do anything to protect their cherished wind turbines…”
You can’t be correct, because so-and-so, a few posts ago, said that the islanders are paying twice the cost for electricity now than they were before the windmills went in. Which is it, BigBoy? Do the islanders love their turbines or do they hate them? Fact is, you haven’t got a clue.
You keep talking about a ‘developer’. The only ‘developer’ in the case of FIW are the ratepayers of the Fox Islands Electric Coop. We, the community built, own and operate our community wind project. Check out: http://www.gcaudio.com/resources/howtos/loudness.html. The 45 DBA limit on FIW is 15 DBA less than a conversation! And get this. 3 dBA is classified as “Barely Perceptibele Change”! Please do your homework before you continue to attack our working community.
Probably both. All I ever saw was a microphone, on a tripod, near someones house, 2 feet from the road…I’m sure there was probably more around but maybe that will offer you an idea of the setup.
You have no idea what you are talking about EB. Please stop misinforming.
The sound consultant at the DEP, Warren Brown, said that after reviewing many of the complaints that he saw a pattern that showed the FIW turbines were often out of compliance. However, when the time came to insist on having FIW show their data and comply with state noise rule, politics ruled the day and the new DEP commissioner (who used to work for FIW’s law firm) stepped in and got rid of Appendix A which would have made FIW accountable. This is why FIWN is suing the DEP…for NOT doing their job.
FIWN has retained an attorney from the beginning despite denying it. They have continued to threaten our community with lawsuits, have made countless frivolous complaints, 99% which were rejected by the DEP and they continue to refuse to work with our community. Even in this statement, Martha50 makes a misleading statement that the turbines were ‘often out of compliance’. The turbines were found to be out of compliance a total of 10 hours over the course of an entire year. That’s 10 hours out of 8,750 hours and the level to which the project exceeded DBA limits was 2 DBA, a level barely noticeable to the human ear. She also doesn’t mention how much this choice of lawyers over community has cost us all and the impact it has had on the working ratepayers of the Fox Islands. I guess she doesn’t care about us who depend on the island for our livelihood.
too noisy and How many birds do they kill ?
I give up. How many?
Studies found that the project is in compliance with all avian requirements.
… and of course all of these “studies” that the developer has to present are bought and paid for by the developer. If you look long enough and have enough money, we all know that you can get a study done that will say just what you want it to say. It’s not all that difficult to accomplish.
There is a significant new government backed study from Spain that was released very recently that proved that the developers there were grossly underestimating and grossly under reporting the number of bird kills there. This new study said that turbines were killing up to 18 MILLION birds and bats per year in Spain!
Anyone on here old enough to remember when the tobacco companies would march “expert” after “expert” to Capital Hill to propagate the studies that the tobacco companys had paid for that said that smoking was NOT a health risk in any way, shape or form? How did that work out?
I guess we prefer clean power to fossil fuel based power.
Pants on fire again. Nothing every changes with you.
Were your wind turbines built with fossil fuels? Just a thought. How are the gears lubed? Wind is not green nor clean.
Were 4.9 million barrels of fossil fuels spilled into the Gulf of Mexico in 2010? Have entire mountain chains been literally pulverized into dust by coal mining? Are Maine’s “pristine” hills, lakes and wildlife polluted with dangerous levels of mercury from coal fired powerplants to the west? Comparatively speaking, wind is green and clean.
Have you seen the studies indicating how many birds domestic house cats kill every year.
“This new study said that turbines were killing up to 18 MILLION birds and bats per year in Spain!”
Let’s see your sources, BigScam. Even if your so-called “new study” is factual, 18 million birds killed by turbines pales in comparison to the estimated 976 million birds killed by window strikes each year in the US alone, the 60 million killed by cars, and hundreds of millions killed by domestic cats (36 million killed by cats in Wisconsin alone per year) according to the USFWS. We don’t hear you hysterically calling for an end of your automobile usage, or your window usage, or a ban on your pets to protect birds. Why not?
Who is counting all these bird kills? The cat I saw may have tried to kill the eagle but after they were 200 ft. in the air I am guessing the eagle had the upper hand . Or claw.
“Who is counting all these bird kills?”
You can find the statistics under the letterhead of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/releases/111214.html
http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/releases/111214.html
People still smoke and pay exorbitant taxes on their tobacco to do so. People still want to drink alcohol, use illegal drugs, prescription drugs, gamble and all other sorts of things, despite the fact that some people don’t like it.
Nicotine is one of the original drugs, along with khat, chewing coca leaves (not processed cocaine powder), chewing betel nut in Vietnam, and of course, alcohol, the original medication invented by man. Let’s not forget caffeine.
So I guess that what the tobacco companies did worked out quite OK, because it gave people what they wanted, just like the military industrial complex gave us all sorts of weapons and explosives, because that’s what people want.
I used to be irritated that the Caucasians from Maine shipped out to Hawaii and ended up taking power over the Hawaiian people. But then I realized, that even if that didn’t happen, the Japanese Navy would have taken the Hawaiian Islands, or some other conquering country.
I really don’t know if wind power is a scam, but apparently, it’s a scam all over the world. I see video on TV of other countries and other states, and the countryside is littered with hundreds of turbines, all set up in a row. Up here in Maine, ten or twenty on the horizon seem to drive some people crazy with anger, yet I commonly see landscapes on television that have a hundred or more of these turbines, all in rows like a field of corn.
So whether you like wind turbines or not, or whether you like wars or not, or like smoking or not, it appears to be a human activity that will not go away. And of course, it doesn’t matter whether I like wars, smoking or wind turbines, because I don’t get a choice, either.
The developer you speak of are the ratepayers of the Fox Islands Electric Coop and the community at large.
Who would know out on Vinalhaven? It is no surprise that FIW did not do the necessary studies even though the islands are a prime nesting area for bald eagles.
http://new.bangordailynews.com/2011/05/11/news/national-agency-questions-how-many-birds-die-near-vinalhaven-turbines/
More misinformation from SW and DW. Please stop suing our towns.
Hopefully this group of neighbors who have had their lives turned upside down by the noise from these turbines, some who even had to move out of their homes, will finally get justice in this case. This developer did not do their due diligeance when siting these turbines and have used every delay tactic in the book to get out of this messy situation. There’s really a simple solution, they just need to change the computer program for the turbines to be able to slow then down (or lock them down) when the conditions are such that they are going to exceed whatever number of dba’s it takes to become a probem to the neighbors, but they might experience a slight loss in power production so their greed won’t allow them to do the right thing. That’s what this case is all about. Greed.
How would you feel if you had worked your entire life, scrimped and saved to buy your little dream house on an Island in Maine, and then had someone put up a huge turbine ‘next door’ that kept you from sleeeping, caused repeated headaches, etc.? Ask yourself that question.
Why is it that this state has laws that would have prevented any other industrial project from being errected where noise levels would be harmful to the people living nearby, but wind power developers get to ignore those laws and pretty much do what they want?
There has been, and continues to be, so much deceit, collusion, and profiting from those legislators and department heads of various state agencies who bow to the influence of special interest groups on these wind issues, that I agree totally agree with Governor LePage’s office’s on energy’s recent study that recommended that we need to form a new task force and rewrite the Wind Energy Laws. And this time around, let’s have people other than those who stand to directly profit from these projects be involved and have a say in the matter. People should not be driven from their homes just to create a small amount of noisey, very expensive energy.
if people move out than,there will be more land to build more windmills maybe thats their idea to aquire more space mmmm
.
I think you might be overestimating the developer’s intelligence.
Einstein speaks…
I think BDN edited some of my paragraghs seriously .. unless i deleted it lol wasn’t nothing bad either
How many moved out of their homes? 2 people. How many of us live CLOSER to the wind project and rely on the island economy for our livelihood, to raise families etc. and who don’t have any problem with the noise? Many. Unfortunately this small group of seasonal residents have chosen a path of litigation over working with their community. They continue to misinform the public and spin the facts, most outrageously that the project isn’t saving us money. I guess they don’t know what it means to be a working member of the community or the constant struggle it is to raise a family out here.
You claim that the turbines keep people from sleeping and caused headaches. Maybe spending 10 hours a day on a lawsuit is the cause of your suffering Come to talk us who live closer than the 5 or 6 complainers. Before you act like an expert on FIW, do your homework and actually come visit us. Talk to the neighbors on Main St and up and down the North Haven Road and see what they have to say. Why are you relying on a handful of people who have refused to work with the community, who have economic means to move wherever they want, as the fact bearers in this case?
We’ve always been committed to meeting all local, state and federal regulations. Your solution to slow down the turbines has already been proposed by FIW and our Coop. But it wasn’t good enough for FIWN. They persisted with their suit. The conditions in question that the DEP found the project in violation was under infrequent meteorological conditions, estimated at 10 hours over the course of an ENTIRE year. That’s 10 hours out of 8,750 hours. And at these times, the project exceeded levels by a mere 2 DBA, a level indiscernible by the human ear. Is that really worth a lawsuit costing our working communities over $500,000 and counting?Its time that FIWN stop attacking our community, end your relationship with your attorney Rufus Brown and commit to engaging in an honest dialogue with the rest of us who are just struggling to make a decent living. Is that too much to ask?
There are just some Mainers who would like to return to the days of the Civil War. But maybe that is what the tourists come for, to view people trying to live the life of 150 years ago.
You may have something there, because wind turbine technology is about as economically feasible now as it was back then! Antiquated technology that is consistently being beaten by the laws of physics.
Why are we continuing to save money and now have access to stable power? Explain the savings Bigwind. Why are members of the community elated when they open their bills, whereas before it gave people a lot of anxiety each month of how they would make ends meet!
FFIW, because of the fact that you support wind power, BigWind could care less whether you make ends meet or not.
True. BigWind doesn’t live out here and could care less how his comments impact the lives of working members of our community.
Is it really saving us? Not that I’m aware of…
Do you own a business out here? Are you raising a family? How long have you been out here? Do you remember what electricity cost last year, in 2008, 2007, and before? Obviously not. I’m looking at my rate bill for both my business and my house from last year at this time and now and I’m seeing a 28% savings. Please stop with your misinformation.
Sounds like your bill is different than everyone else’s!
Actually no. We can speak for several household and commercial bills that show the same savings. Your graph is bunch of fuzzy math. Its pure spin. It cherry picks information that doesn’t reflect what has actually transpired out here. Its just one more of your attempts to distort the facts and attack our community. Please stop. At least the facts are here in our rate bills that continue to bring us benefits.
Those were the days!
FFIW, you say, “How many moved out of their homes? 2 people.” You conveniently left out the part about those other neighbors who were left with no alternative other than to settle with the developer and sell their homes for a fraction of what they were worth prior to the turbines. How convenient for you to have such a lapse of memory! I can always tell when you’re not telling the truth – your mouth is open and there’s words coming out!
Let’s be honest Bigwind. You really should come out here to get the full picture. 1 neighbor left before the project went online, after just constructing a house. They got the market rate which is pretty good considering where the housing market has gone due to the decline in the economy.
So buy out the remaining people and stop wasting your money on lawyers.
So you’re saying if you distort the record and continue to lie about the facts, you should get rewarded?
Having to sell your home at a loss and move doesn’t sound like much of a “reward” to me.
They should not sell at a loss. They should get top dollar and the turbine company should foot the bill because they were not truthful when pitching the idea to the islanders in the first place. Or move the homes to the other end of the island.
We are FIW and we’ve been truthful from the before the turbines were under construction. Enron, if you are really concerned about the truth, why don’t you demand that FIWN commit to the facts instead of continuing to distort the public record and attack our woking community.
You got that right. FIW withheld information about the 2008 RSE study which predicted the noise issue and also changed the Vinalhaven 2006 wind ordinance which would have protected the neighbors. The people who bought the property for siting the wind turbines used local politics to get them built on the site (that was too small and too close to neighbors) for their own financial gain . All these actions were premeditated, unbeknownst to all the individuals living within a mile of the turbines. Now for some reason they want to blame the noise problems on the neighbors, the most convenient scapegoats.
Not a loss considering the current housing market. Or maybe you didn’t account for the sketchy tree growth program you entered as a way to lessen the value of your home and property.
Those are your words. I am saying that would solve your problem. Then you could turn up the turbines to your hearts’ content and you would not be driving your neighbors crazy. Wind developers need to smarten up when siting industrial litter to prevent these problems. I visited last summer and the turbines are too noisy for me.
“I can always tell when you’re not telling the truth – your mouth is open and there’s words coming out!”
You can never just make your point in a civil way. You always have to include your brutish insults as well. I can always tell when you are insulting somebody. Your mouth is open and there ARE words coming out (I can see that your grammar hasn’t improved any, even after all of your lengthy manifestos against wind power).
I’m from the island and I seldom find the need to travel up to the northern end of the island. One day last year though (my first up that way since the completion of the turbines) I was walking down Company Point Road and heard this fairly loud sound that I thought was a lawn mower. I kept walking and walking and the sound remained steady. By the time I got back to the main road I realized it was the damn turbines! I couldn’t believe how loud they were. Some say they don’t even hear it but I can’t even comprehend how they don’t. I’m certainly glad I live on the complete opposite side of the island.
I think the enduring symptoms ‘BigWind’ describes is putting it mildly. Have we forgotten about the guy who lived next door who literally had a heart attack over the noise of these things and has moved away for good? (Maybe he is one of the 2 that has been mentioned?)
I’m not part of this lawsuit nor am I one of the 5 or 6 people you describe. I guess you could call me +1, and I’m more or less just an observer who is glad I don’t live next to these turbines.
Taking into consideration the lawsuits and costly modifications made to the turbines it has become clear we are no better off than when we relied on the cable for our power. So FoFIW, as a working member of the community “in a constant struggle”, thanks for the increase in our electric bills. I’m sooo thankful it costs us more than before, and that we are the ones who continuously take the burden.
Well said, EB! I think you speak for that silent majority of islanders who have true empathy for those people who are living with the noise day in and day out. It is a bad deal and don’t we all know it!
SW/DW: Please acknowledge the fact you continue to distort the public record and are seasonal residents who do not depend on our island for employment or to raise a family. Keep that in mind as you pursue a lawsuit instead of working with your fellow islanders who have only been gracious to your family and welcomed you into our community. The least you could do would be to respect the working people of Vinalhaven and North Haven.
EB,
You obviously don’t live on the island full time as your facts are completely inaccurate. One, the individual you speak of who had a heart attack DOES NOT live next to the turbines. He lives over 3,500 feet from them. He’s been a mission since day one to misinform the public, through character attacks in the media and misrepresenting what is actually happening on the Fox Islands. This man, Mr. Lindgren, had a pre-existing health issue and despite doctor”s recommendations spent countless hours in the woods trying to submit sound recordings that would find FIW in fault. 19 of the 20 findings he submitted were rejected as lacking scientific merit.
Its pretty clear from your comments that you haven’t lived on the island for a considerable amount of time nor do you depend on the island for work. We doubt you remember the days when we would go with out power for 5, 6, 7 days on end. Or the serious impact the costs of electricity was having on our working community and businesses in town. Do you have any idea of the economic benefit that FIW has created for so many on our islands? Do you have any respect for the fact that the individuals you are siding with have repeatedly lied and misinformed the public and burdened our two towns with a lawsuit that could have been avoided to if they had the simple respect to proceed with honesty and a willingness to be good neighbors?
What are you talking about that it costs you more than before? Do you even receive a rate bill? I’m looking at a comparison now, as a business owner and a homeowner, and the cost is down 28%. That’s money in my pocket that I can afford to pay my employees or to raise my children in our schools. Please stop misrepresenting our community and spreading falsehoods that do impact our ability to survive.
We should add that we are a group of homeowners who live on the North Haven Rd, CLOSER to the few individuals who call themselves FIWN who live over 3,000 ft from the turbines. We cannot comprehend what all the fuss is about. The noise isn’t bothersome and the project has led to significant savings that DO matter especially at times when things have been difficult with the economy etc…Please consider the working people of the Fox Islands when you consider continuing distorting the facts.
You sound reasonable, not testy and rude like some.Please post your electric bills so we can see the difference . Hide what you need for privacy, but include the kwh and dates.
“Please post your electric bills so we can see the difference.”
Oh, get off your duff and drive out there and talk to the people personally, for heaven’s sake. If you’re going to be the judge of the islanders, you owe it to go out there and see for yourself. They’ve actively invited you to go out and talk with them. Do it.
Just jumping in here to say LURC (Lincoln Meeting) just now denied First Winds Bowers Mountain Project. A first in the state.
Does a town have to vote to construct windmills? If so istn’t all this stuff ironed out before the windmill s get built like the pros and cons? and than people vote to have it.
So now there going to court to complain about noise. I don’t get it some people just like to complain even if they know the pro and cons.
The vote here was 383-5 in favor of building the community-owned project. People realized the need to address the rising cost of utilities on the islands. A year after the project was in operation, a community-wide survey of both seasonal and year-round residents found satisfaction with the project was over 98%.
That’s actually the truth FFIW. In fact, some of the litigants and even some of those that have literally been driven from their homes initially thought that these turbines would be wonderful and supported them all the way …right up til the time they turned them on and were besiged with blade flicker, noise, health problems …. should I go onFFIW?
You must live awfully close to be bothered so much. I don’t live on the islands, but the chief on my vessel lives on North haven, and he claims his electric bill has been halved. Plus they are developing some kind of electric heat sink to be used in the winter. Apparently it is a smart grid technology that will send power to the grid or to the heating element depending on the cost analysis to oil at that time.
Hopefully a few will go up on Bald Mt. so us in Dedham can tap into them.
He had best take another look at his electric bill! See for yourself :
http://fiwn.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/fiec-rate-graph1.jpg
Interesting graph, but it would be more accurate if you looked at the average prices trended over a few years, not cherry picked data from the highest and lowest points. The avg looks to be about 10c prior to turbines, and 9c after turbines. Subtract the legal fees for fighting court battles and you at 8c
Islanders were promised rates would be 6 cents a KWH. The graph shows month by month numbers showing the energy portion of the bill. Nothing is cherry picked. The rates are so high, the numbers speak for themselves. If you want to go back a few months or years, be my guest. Do the research. Since the turbines started running the rates are as high as they were before they were erected which was 10 to 12 cents a KWH. If FIEC were buying electricity off of the grid from the mainland they would probably be paying 6 to 7 cents a KWH.
All you have to do is look at your bill today. The savings are apparent, the minute you open the bill and see the total. Gone are the days of out of control electricity prices on the Fox Islands, when we would lose power for days on end and we could barely afford to pay to keep our lights on and our businesses open.
More fuzzy math. Why is our bill and hundreds of other business operators and homeowners experiencing lower bills as a result of FIW? Are you calling the community a bunch of idiots/liars?
No, it seems that you are calling the community a bunch of idiots. We can all read our electric bills. I doubt very much that you are an island resident or you would not make these completely ridiculous claims.
We are a wide group of homeowners, business owners, fathers, mothers, grandmothers who have called the Fox Islands home for many generations. Your persistent effort to tell us that the savings we’ve seen as a result of FIW doesn’t exist is offensive. Please stop attacking the working people of the Fox Islands.
Has it not occurred to you that those of us bothered by the noise are also “a wide group of homeowners, business owners, fathers, mothers, grandmothers who have called the Fox Islands home for many generations?” From your comments it seems one has to have grown up here in order to count. Not too neighborly, especially from a supposed business owner who benefits from summer residents’ $$$.
Again you distort the facts. FIWN is made up of small handful of individuals, whose organizers are 3 families that are seasonal residents. You are not a ‘wide’ group, but rather a small group that continues to mislead the public and continue to refuse to work with your neighbors. We are a community that survives on working together, helping each other out, regardless if you are from here or away. What we simply ask is that you do so in benefiting the community and to commit to telling the truth. Unfortunately FIWN cares more about lawyers than our working island community.
The ultimate irony of BigScam’s big mouth is that he lives nowhere near the the islands, yet feels he has a right to tell 2000 islanders what is best for their survival.
I’m an islander and I think he’s doing a great job!
You’re obviously not an islander as you didn’t understand that FIEC incorporates both NH and VH communities.
Kind of like you wanting the mountains of West Virginia destoyed, and their waters polluted so you can access cheap electricity from coal fired power plants. Hey you don’t live there so who cares? You have your scenic vistas, what’s the plight of a bunch of dumb Southerners to you?
There is a big difference between the wholesale pulverization of West Virginia’s mountain chains, and the two or three days a year when the FIW windmills exceed the sound of a quiet conversation. Still, the last time I was in West Virginia and asked the locals what they thought about the criticism of coal mining, they said that families all over the region have earned their living in the mines for generations, and they wish people would just shut up about it. Do they have more of a right over the disposition of their land than I do? Quite possibly.
The
only answer , as can be seen here from the wind shills arrogant
responses to facts and reason , is to sue the perpetrators until they
all squeal!
Then Sue Some More, until compensation for the damages is obtained.More will donate to the legal cause.
Maine is a corrupt state as we know, a seething little place of elitistshaving their way for too long, like Baker et. al.
People are being forced from their homes by damages you created, and you will now pay. Uncompensated damages have a legal life of their own, until the damage is corrected.
It is no longer about the turbines.
It is about civil injustice and illegal taking.
You had you chance to settle, admit the damage, and pay.
Now that is over.
Now , tell it to judges, for a long time.$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$, you will lose.
Good luck to the damaged.
They will win.
Leave it to Arthur to blurt out the true motivations of the anti-windys here … it’s all about well-to-do seasonal residents suing working islanders for all they’re worth.
Do you have any more right to opine than Big?Or me or anyone else?
None of the three of us has more of a right to opine than the 2,000 people who are trying to carve out a living on those islands.
I guess NH must receive all the benefits while we take the burden of having them! What was the reason they were constructed here anyway? NH is closer to the mainland as far as transportation is concerned. I guess NH folk knew better?!
EB, you obviously don’t live out here as you fail to understand NH and VH are all members of the Coop and pay the same rate. Regardless if you live on NH or VH, you have experienced the same SIGNIFICANT savings. Please stop misinforming the public.
You know the interesting thing hooperdredgbill is that those living closest have NO problem with the project. Thank you for reiterating that people ARE seeing savings and thus have more money to help survive the difficult economy.
2 people chose to leave. No negative health affects and noise that 98% of the community cannot seem to understand why it is a problem. Why does FIWN continue to lie and continue to misinform the public and continue to refuse to work with their neighbors in an honest and positive way?
Unfortunately, it’s become standard operating procedure for the professional “front men” of the wind developers to spend months assuring everyone that nothing will change. No noise, no health risks, no harm to the bird/bat population, no property devaluation, and on and on. They also do a great job with throwing influence money (what most of us would refer to as bribes or hush money) around these towns for several years before the project is announced.
In a meeting I attended two years ago in Carroll Plantation, developer First Wind’s PR front man (Attorney Neil Kiely) stood in front of a packed house and said that the project planned for that area would have “a significant impact on reducing the high cancer rate here in Maine!” AND HE SAID IT WITH A STRAIGHT FACE!
That project will likely have a final determination made on it tomorrow (4/6) at the LURC Commissioners meeting in Lincoln at 9:30. Should be interesting.
“AND HE SAID IT WITH A STRAIGHT FACE!”
You’ve been beating this story to death ever since you used to be Northwoods Mainer. By the way, why did you change your handle? Were you banned from the BDN blogs because of your foul mouth?
Yes, they do vote on future wind mill farms…at least as far as the noise limits are concerned. In Fort Kent ME they adopted a noise limit that makes next to impossible for anyone to build a farm anywhere near the town.
no it’s more like this their law firm dowe sue’em & how is looking for easy money.
I guess the persistent claim by the small group of mostly seasonal residents who call themselves FIWN that there is no lawsuit against the island ratepayers of Vinalhaven and North Haven is FALSE. As quoted above “Rufus Brown, attorney for Fox Islands Wind Neighbors”. Will FIWN finally level with the public and at least own up to the fact that they are advancing an expensive lawsuit and that FIWN continues to refuse to work honestly with our community?
The
only answer , as can be seen here from the wind shills arrogant
responses to facts and reason , is to sue the perpetrators until they
all squeal!
Then Sue Some More, until compensation for the damages is obtained.More will donate to the legal cause.
Maine is a corrupt state as we know, a seething little place of elitistshaving their way for too long, like Baker et. al.
People are being forced from their homes by damages you created, and you will now pay. Uncompensated damages have a legal life of their own, until the damage is corrected.
It is no longer about the turbines.
It is about civil injustice and illegal taking.
You had you chance to settle, admit the damage, and pay.
Now that is over.
Now , tell it to judges, for a long time.$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$, you will lose.
Good luck to the damaged.
They will win.
Leave it to Arthur to blurt out the true motivations of the anti-windys here … it’s all about well-to-do seasonal residents suing working islanders for all they’re worth.
The lawsuit described in the article is against the DEP.
Again more spin. Please stop.
Could always take them down and make them responsible for the power line from the coast to the island…Lower power bills and a little noise….quit whining….:)
Fewer not less…..Less refers to an amount..”less money”….Fewer refers to specific things ” Fewer kooks” or “fewer delusions.” Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar…..
“15 items or fewer”…not “15 items or less.” Quiz on this tomorrow.
How long will it be before one of the 5 or 6 members of FIWN post a link to their fuzzy math graph claiming that our wind project isn’t saving us money? I guess the first experiences of us ratepayers out here who see savings each month in our bills, isn’t good enough.
Sounds like the residents there did not read the stories about the noise generated by the Wind Mills in Presque Isle ME.
What noise?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lp31TWPC5tc
People all over the world are hearing more than 45 dBA. There is an ultra sonic sound that permeates the area.
A developer in my area designs their complaince plan to operate the turbines in Noise Reduction Operation. The plan is to get the project built and get the cash-outs on subsidies.
Even with noise reductions; the sound models of the project in my back yard shows 34 “receptors” who will see and hear turbines. Isn’t tha alot of people?
Seems we have become a society of “Zero Impact” – “Zero Risk”. If a project inconveniences a few for the greater good of many, we must not proceed.
The Wiscassett bypass is cancelled due to one Eagle’s nest along the Route. The State of Maine has more uninhabited area anywhere on the East Coast, but that one tree in Wiscassett is the only place on earth that this particular Eagle can nest.
Many projects must do noise studies, neighborhood impact studies, etc; etc; etc; – the plan is to study it until a reason is found not to do it.
Politics – not science shut down the nuclear power industry. Yucca Mtn is a viable solution to nuclear waste but not politically acceptable.
We cannot build hydro electric projects, wind projects, LNG projects. We can’t drill, we can’t mine, on and on, yet we have no problem consuming the things we must import at a high cost.
If a wonder drug helps millions, but kills 1 in a million patients, we can’t use it.
Common sense is gone and entitlement is now the driving force.
lift the ban on hydro…….lots of hydro north of us. Let the lines run down the pike.
If Vermont buys electricty at 5.8 cents a kwh, why can’t Mainers?
The cost of Vermont’s Canadian hydro power is tied to the cost of fossil fuel. When the cost of fossil fuel rises, so do Vermont’s hydro costs. Who doesn’t expect the cost of fossil fuel to spiral through the roof in the next decade or two? When that happens, we’ll see how attractive Vermont’s deal looks to you.
Wind power is also tied to it. There is back up facilities that rely on fossel.
There is an abundance of domestic fossil fuel. You are wrong. Check EIA data, the graphs clearly show fossil fuel costs to increase modestly over the next 15 years , as shale gas on other domestic fossil sources are tapped. Obama won’t be around forever, fortunately.
You are really too funny, (and uneducated on this issue).
“…the graphs clearly show fossil fuel costs to increase modestly over the next 15 years , as shale gas on other domestic fossil sources are tapped.”
It’s no secret that easily reached natural gas supplies are running out, which is why exploratory gas drilling companies must resort more and more to techniques like fracking in order to release pockets of gas, a practice which can be, and has been, devastating to the drinking water supplies of local residents. These hazards will raise the cost of extracting gas because of grass roots activism, costs that are already expected to spiral higher and higher as the reserves become further and further out of reach. Also, as natural gas becomes the fuel of choice as you suggest, demand will increase thereby increasing the cost. As for “other domestic fossil fuel sources,” only a wild-eyed fossil fuel fanatic could believe that fossil fuels will be cheap over the next 15 years. For a dose of reality, just look at the gas pump and the heating oil bills that people are currently paying.
Also, the New York Times and other responsible journalists have reported that the natural gas companies have memos, well data, and whistleblowers that indicate that the companies are overstating the size of their untapped reserves in order to inflate the value of their corporations and increase their chances of obtaining subsidies from the government. Why are you so quick to swallow gas industry propaganda?
Vermont ran out of sport fish though.
Your comparing wind turbines to a wonder drug is inane. Wind turbines are more like a disease than a wonder drug cure.
You are correct that common sense is gone when it comes to useless wind power, and entitlement in the form of subsidies, grants and tax breaks are the corporate entitlements that are driving these inefficient, loud, unneeded, environmentally destructive wind projects.
Use Less
Check out this graph from the http://www.fiwn.org site
http://fiwn.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/fiec-rate-graph1.jpg which shows that island electric rates have doubled since the turbines came into operation. The rates were taken directly from islander electric bills. The only fuzzy math would be the math done by the self-appointed Friends of Fox Islands Wind zealot who has not figured out that misrepresenting the facts in this case does not do FIW or FIEC any favors. I have my own island electric bill and I can promise you I am not celebrating the increase in the electric rates! They are as high as they were before the turbines were erected! Also note that this self appointed friend of FIW does not even live on the island. Please disregard his off the wall comments. As you can see by his number of comments, he is into ranting.` BTW the FIWN lawsuit is against the DEP, not FIW. He has that wrong, too. But who is surprised?
Couldn’t have said it better Martha50! ;-)
How far away does Chellie live from these beauties?
More fuzzy math. Why is it my rate bill for both my business and my home today vs. prior FIW went into operation is less? Why do my fellow members of the Chamber of Commerce, who all too well know the past struggles of high utility bills, are seeing lower utility bills as a result of FIW.
Martha50 (or SW/DW), you don’t know who you are talking to. I own a major business on the island and have operated it for many years. You have NEVER worked on our island nor understand what it means to survive depending on our island economy. Please stop dragging our island community through the mud, please stop suing our town and please stop lying about the real benefits so many of us have and continue to experience as a result of our community wind project.
I think many of us who live on Vinalhaven would like to see the numbers on your bill. Show us the dates and give us the numbers.
100% of ratepayers on the Fox Islands have seen savings, even those 5 or 6 individuals who repeatedly mislead the public, refuse to work with others in our working community and who continue to sue the ratepayers of both islands, despite denying the fact.
Show us the dates and give us the numbers.
Just ask any rate payer. Take the ferry over from your home in Rockland, walk out onto Main Street and talk to the working people in our community. We’d recommend that you go talk to our Coop but you have continually discredited them, calling updates on the project ‘propaganda’. 98% of us have and continue to see savings. Maybe its time you drop the spin and end your lawsuit.
You must not be a ratepayer since you do not have the numbers available. Hmmm.
We are a group of ratepayers, business owners and households who are members of our coop. We continue to see savings and thus are able to call out your graphs and claims as more of the same misinformation designed to attack our working island community.
Yeah.
I am curious. Does Vinal Haven have any potential for tidal power?
Yes, tidal power would have been a wonderful answer for Vinalhaven, as would solar power. If in 2008 FIW had followed the advice of RSE, a Brunswick acoustical engineering firm, that studied the feasibility of the current site, the turbines would have never been erected where they are. Instead, they fired RSE, swept the report under the rug, hired Acentech, and the rest is a miserable history.
fisherman wouldn’t be able to set a trap with in 5 miles of one!! bad idea
I do not know about that. I do know that ocean based turbines may change ocean currents which could change where lobsters migrate. These are all important issues that need to be studied.
wrong…
Again more fuzzy math.
I thought the idea of tidal power was awesome but some enviromentalists shot it down Canada wasn’t afriad to use them though. So as the norm Maine finishes last thanks to a certain few.
there are many layers here- I don’t think the wind companies care if they depopulate areas that already have small populations- there is NO consideration for the impact on wildlife or human life or the topography (tho they say there is) and the DEP is not a help at all..the laws followed make it impossible for those with valid issues to be heard or win-and so Mainers need to keep bringing this to court until it is heard and changed. Whether people are from away or not is not the issue- those away people pay their taxes on their properties – to ruin a way of life for locals or aways makes NO sense..these things CREATE noise and always will..they will never be silent, they will always kill bats and birds, they will destroy topography creating runoff and erosion and upsetting the natural balance that has been the gift of Maine. May the Vinylhaven people prevail- and all of us being negatively impacted by this sad sad scam. We had a couple write the DEP who comes all the way from Kansas every summer to their retirement home on a lake proposed to have 50 wind turbines looming..they were heartbroken and many others are too, whether local or away- by the lights, noise and destruction- not to mention the horrible scenic impact.
and electricity bills go DOWN? check our Demark the leader in wind energy. bills go way up. As I look at these comments I see someone said that the communities get given the pros and cons..oh no they do not..to my knowledge Oakfield did not have any of the informed people like Mike Rogers from the State Revenue Service or people who suffered from turbines in Mars Hill, for example, speak to them before they were influenced to vote in a wind farm- the companies bank on the fact that the townspeople do not always do their research…and do not always agree. It is obviously a complicated and contentious issue, not so easily black and white..but definitely influenced by what looks like free Money while the wind companies win MUCH more $..
You might want to check our rate bill at home and at our business to realize that FIW has saved us money. Why is it that neighbors far CLOSER to the turbines have only had positive things to say about the wind project yet 5 or 6 seasonal, non-working homeowners have distorted the public record?
The only answer , as can be seen here
from the wind shills , is to sue until they all squeal!Then sue
some more, until compensation for the damages is obtained.Maine
is a corrupt state as we know, a seething little place of elitists
having their way for too long, like Baker et. al.People are
being forced from their homes by damages you created, and you will
now pay. Uncompensated damages have a legal life of their
own, until the damage is corrected.It is no longer about the
turbines, it is about civil injustice and illegal taking. You
had your chance to settle, admit the damage, and pay.Now that is
over.Now , tell it to judges, for a long time.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$, you will lose.Good luck to the damaged. They
will win.
We reject your view that suing a working community is good policy. It serves only a few egos and the coffers of attorneys. Why not try honesty for a change and what could be gained by committing to working with the community instead of Rufus Brown?
If we put up enough of these ugly turbines, the state’s bowling alleys will attract more tourists than our lakes, mountains and shores.
Environmental rules are established to be followed and enforced.
In this case noise rules established in 1989 and which do not take in consideration the specifics of wind turbine noise have been violated by the Fox IslandWind.
Those rules, (which have been improved recently by the legislature to include lower nighttime noise limits for turbines but FIW is grandfathered under the old rules) have been broken by FIW and have had consequences on the welfare and well being of some Vinalhaven residents.
Those facts have been rightly recognized by the enforcing agency (DEP), but no enforcement ensued, and that is wrong. There would be no lawsuit if the laws were enforced .
Monique Aniel
co chair of the CTFWP
http://www.windtaskforce.org
A lawsuit doesn’t necessarily entail an actual injustice.
but if the laws were enforced there would be no lawsuit
Not necessarily.
The aggrieved parties have stated there would be no suit a the laws been enforced. Monique is right.
Again…. not necessarily! You don’t even know the aggrieved parties, how do you know what their motivations or character traits are like?
it’s funny I have leaned against the base of a wind tower in Lincoln for 16 hours while it was going full steam and I had to look up and see it was turning to know it was running no sound and I have very good hearing.Their are a few on a ridge a few miles from my home I’m outside in the yard i never hear them I’ve watched for this glimmer effect they talk about to, but even when the sun is on them I never see flashing of the blades.I like looking at them wish they could change the color of the light’s at christmass time lol.The last thing I like is the fact it’s clean and not destroying the ozone even though I don’t think of myself as an enviromentalist.
Lucky you that you have the luxury of leaning against one for a few hours and going home! AND that you live a few miles from them…. I hear them 24/7 when the wind is blowing and I can tell you, it gets OLD fast.
that’s funny cause I talk to people all over this area that say just the opposite and many like me who had their reservation’s don’t believe their the eye sore they thought they would be either.I prefer them over the look of a nuclear plant especially after japan’s lil mishap.Although I want all our hydro dams back.
I agree with you on the hydro. I do not know who you are talking to you, but you do not want these 400 foot noise makers in your backyard!
I talk to the people who have them in their back yard a couple who actually called first wind to get the year long wind study on their property.
The noise does not bother everyone. Some people are more sensitive than others. Some people have their televisions or music on all the time. It definitely varies. Unfortunately, the noise drives our family crazy!
Does it drive your family crazy from Rockland where you live 8 months out of the year?
Nice those people considered how their greed would affect others for miles around.
Is it “greed” for citizens to make an effort to survive off their land in a region of layoffs and low-paying tourism jobs during the worst economic downturn since the Depression? Is it greed for 2,000 islanders to make an effort to wean themselves off unreliable and expensive mainland energy so that they could continue to live in the communities that they cherish? Perhaps it is greed for 5 or 6 well-to-do seasonal residents to rob the energy savings of the 2,000 citizens of the islands with lawsuits, rather than working together with the community to solve differences.
Give it a break LTM. If FIW had made their sound data public, there would have been no lawyer fees and the group of families (year round and seasonal) , a lot more than 5 or 6 individuals! , living within a mile or so of the turbines could have tried to come to a community decision. FIW refused to share their data and is still wasting ratepayers $$$ fighting the DEP in court to keep it from the public eye.
Maybe you should give a shout out to some Mars Hill residents.
Do you hear them from the house you live in 8 months of the year in Rockland? Please stop.
16 hours? BS. Move farther away and you will hear and feel what people are talking about. Also, how do you think the turbines came into being? Good old coal fired power plants in China!!! Clean and green? Please.
Nuke waste can be safely dumped into a subduction zone where it will remain moving along under the crust until it becomes neutral. In that time it will have moved a couple miles . The new tech nukes are not like the old stuff due to be decommed anyway. Wind power cannot replace baseload gen. Wind noise is only part of the problem. Infrasound is worse.
I have a non-politically charged question; I am genuinely curious. What was the cost per kilowatt hour for a Fox Island Electric customer prior to the wind turbines, and what is the cost now?
Thanks!
The transmission charge is steady but the energy charge can vary. Before the turbines were installed the energy portion of the bill was between 10 and 12 cents a KWH which was considered very high. If you look at current electric rates they are about that and higher. Here is a graph showing electrical rates over the past 2 years:
http://fiwn.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/fiec-rate-graph1.
More fuzzy math. Why do we and 98 % of the island attest to the fact we are indeed saving money and continue to save money as a result of FIW?!
This is quite the claim. You have seen the graph above which lists all rate charges from FIEC for islanders. Please give the months, dates of your bill, and the amounts you are “saving” . The rest of us are paying between 10 and 12 cents a KWH, double the 6 cents a KWH what FIW promised.
Your graph is inaccurate. It takes a snapshot and distorts the facts. Why are you discrediting the savings over 2,000 ratepayers experience every month when we open our rate bill?
You have seen the graph above which lists all rate charges from FIEC for islanders. Please give the months, dates of your bill, and the amounts you are “saving” .
Just look at your bill. Everyone sees the savings whether you like to admit it or not. Come out from Rockland and take a walk up Main St. Talk to your fellow business owners and working islanders about the savings they’ve all seen. You might be surprised.
It’s disheartening that these wind developers are taking our own tax dollars and making our lives miserable with them. Industrial wind has been around since the ’70’s and after all that time it now produces far less than one percent of the energy the humans on this planet require. If we truly want to wean ourselves off of foreign oil, heat our homes and power our vehicles using electricity WITHOUT destroying the very planet we’re trying so hard to save, we have to get serious about conservation, human population, and our power sources. Industrial wind is a mature technology that hasn’t worked and isn’t going to. It’s time to go back to the drawing board. Small thorium reactors show great potential. In one hundred years we’ll be far, far beyond where we are now. Tourism is our biggest economic engine. Let’s keep Maine beautiful.
“We have to get serious about conservation…”
I wonder how much power is sucked down by that fancy 98 room inn that you own, and by all those tourists that drive from all over creation to get to your place.
About ten thousand dollars a month in electricty charges, which is why we’ve changed so many things to try and reduce those high electric rates. LED lights, new energy efficient refrigeration units, we make our own biodiesel for the company trucks, (I know that has nothing to do with electricity but it’s “weaning us off foreign oil”) we’ve switched from oil to natural gas which is so much more clean and efficient, we’re looking into solar pre-heating for our water, and doing as much as we can to conserve energy and stay in business. Electricity prices really do matter in Maine. The more competition the better, which is why hydro needs to be reclassified as a renewable. The more competition the better, both for Maine businesses and Maine residents. Those tourist we cater to are great people and they’re keeping Maine alive and have been for a very long time. We need them. And we need to keep them coming back. We need to keep Maine beautiful. And oh by the way, I’m very proud of my mother’s inn, it’s called the Harraseeket Inn and it’s in Freeport Maine. We support our local farmers and fishermen and provide full time jobs to over 160 salt of the earth Mainers. Without any government subsidies.
“Those tourist we cater to are great people…”
…until they become electricity customers who buy Maine wind power. At that point, they become worthless parasites to the anti-wind crowd.
the Mass are mandated to buy Maine wind. I am sure no one wants to pay 99$ a kwh.
I think if you asked Mass, they would op for Hydro Quebec’s power. Hydro really is green.
What did you say your connection is to the wind industry, LM? Please educate us.
What did you say your connection is to the fossil fuel industry, EC?
I agree! As the president at my college once said. “Wind turbines are not economically viable.” Never will be as far as I can tell! I guess no one takes the time to look up “abandoned wind turbines”. There are over 14,000 of them in the US that have ruined our landscape. Turbines are not the solution to our problems.
Why is it that we continue to save money as a result of FIW?
Because you had the highest elec. rates in the state. That does not mean it will work everywhere.
“Because you had the highest elec. rates in the state….”
And now they don’t. Sounds like the 98% majority made a pretty intelligent decision after all, despite the crowing from the anti-wind mainlanders.
actually it does.
Take the stupid things down. I hate them!!!!
Take them down and let them sit in the dark.
All you anti-wind people: qwitcherbitching. I live a mile from I-95 and any time of the day or night I can hear the 18 wheelers on the road, moving your gas and oil and other forms of energy along the highway. Get a grip.
<–waves, inadvertently drives into the rumble strip at 2am. blows horn for good measure…HI!
Don’t like the noise? Move. They were there first.
Look, I cannot tell if FIW’s wind turbines are creating a noise issue or if people just don’t want them, or better yet, if FIW simply crammed these turbines down the throats of the population, without a community vote. After all, it is the people’s choice and the sooner these corporations AND the State of Maine legislature can understand this, the better off things will be. Our community had a similar issue to deal with, and the plurality vote count was the decision that no wind turbines would be installed onshore or offshore. We remained with hydro power and the installation of more powerful generators and a new system of dam reconstruction and engineering to produce more electricity for the growing community at large. Currently, we are affiliated with an enormous central power corporation as ours is a subsidiary.
FIW is community owned. The community of both islands voted overwhelmingly to go forward to develop the project. No ‘cramming down’ people’s throats. We all knew the issue at hand and how we needed to do something to stabilize and lower prices to save the working community of both islands. Thank god we came together and acted to benefit our community.
Islanders were told that the ambient noise would cover the sound of the turbines which is not the case. Neighbors were not told about the 2008 RSE study which recommended that neighbors be forewarned that noise could be an issue and that they be taken to Mars Hill or hear simulations so that they were prepared. This never happened. The report called the site relatively small and pointed out that having the turbines in a triangular formation downwind of each other increases noise.
There was community wide support for the turbines because everyone thought they would save money on their electric bill and that noise would not be an issue. Most everyone involved did this with good intentions. The individuals who knew about the 2008 RSE report made a huge mistake by not informing the islanders about the results of that study. These same individuals continue to hide the truth by not making their sound data public. If FIW was in compliance, you would think they would be eager to show their sound data which they record every single day at a cost to ratepayers. As for the higher electrical rates, the drop in the price of natural gas and the change in the REC market has changed the financial model which has made it so that islanders are not save money on their electrical bills.
SW/DW, please stop! You continue to insult us ratepayers, working members of both communities who did our due diligence. We are saving money. Just look at your rate bill and compare. Your graph amounts to fuzzy math that cherry picks data points. Why are us ratepayers relieved now when we open our rate bill? Maybe if you took a minute to think about us who actually depend on cheaper power, who depend on the island to raise our families and run our businesses, you’d realize that your lies do have an impact. You keep distorting the truth. For what? How loud are the turbines from your home in Rockland? The compliance issue you keep raising occurs 10 hours out of a year. That’s 10 out of 8,750 hours and a mere 2 DBA! All we ask is that you respect our working community of islanders, and that you represent what is going on out here accurately and honestly. Please stop with all these distortions and lies.
What has happened on Vinalhaven is a good example of what
happens when a wind development is not properly planned or sited. As with many of the proposed and built wind
projects near homes in Maine and across the country, noise issues are a problem
for humans, and we have no idea what the true impacts are to wildlife. One of two things typically happens: the sound level limits are set too high (by
statute) and/ or the sound evaluation, which is completed by using a computer software model, is “adjusted” to
meet the statute limits. Industrial wind
turbines are the largest machines we have on this planet, and when their
football length blades are cutting the air at 200 mph, they create noise that
is destructive to the human body. The
only solution is safe and effective setbacks – a mile to two miles – from human
habitation. In a case like Vinalhaven
this was impossible, but the developers somehow get permission erect the
turbines anyway. The results – health
issues and law suits. Instead of residents having to sue the wind
companies, the wind companies should sue the noise consultants whose data is
obviously wrong when the real sound pressure levels don’t match their computer
models. Instead of playing games by trying to get sound pressure levels “barely legal”, consultants should err on the
side of caution and insist on conservative setbacks . Until the wind industry is as interested in
people and their health as they are making money, this scenario will continue
to play out again and again. The affected
residents of Vinalhaven would much rather be living a relaxed life on their
island than fighting a law suit. It’s no
fun and it costs money, but you have to give them credit for standing up for
the rights our Constitution gives them.
FIW was properly sited. It didn’t account for the fact a few seasonal residents would wage a protracted, expensive lawsuit, while refusing to work with our community.
It seems there is some confusion here. The lawsuit discussed in the article above concerns a suit brought against the DEP by FIWN for not doing their job and for allowing political meddling. FIW jumped in as an interested party and tried to have the suit thrown out of court. The judge disagreed and said the lawsuit against the DEP could move forward. To my knowledge there are no other lawsuits to date and none are against FIEC and FIW. What are you referring to? Please be specific. Give us a filing date, who it was against, and for what. Thank you.
Rufus Brown. You continue to lie about the fact you have retained a lawyer and have filed complaint after complaint (99% of which were rejected as frivolous and lacking scientific merit), costing us all hundreds of thousands of dollars that come out of the pockets of hard working residents and many on fixed incomes. Why deny the facts? Do you really think the people of the Fox Islands are so stupid? We’d hope you had more respect for our community.
The
only answer , as can be seen here from the wind shills arrogant
responses to facts and reason , is to sue the perpetrators until they
all squeal!
Then Sue Some More, until compensation for the damages is obtained.More will donate to the legal cause.
Maine is a corrupt state as we know, a seething little place of elitistshaving their way for too long, like Baker et. al.
People are being forced from their homes by damages you created, and you will now pay. Uncompensated damages have a legal life of their own, until the damage is corrected.
It is no longer about the turbines.
It is about civil injustice and illegal taking.
You had you chance to settle, admit the damage, and pay.
Now that is over.
Now , tell it to judges, for a long time.$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$, you will lose.
Good luck to the damaged.
They will win.
We reject suing a working community over a few naysayers who prefer misinformation and a show a continued failure to represent the facts.
FIWN retained Rufus Brown, one lawyer compared to the entire firm FIW retained, to say nothing of the lawyer FIEC retained. Regardless, name this lawsuit you keep mentioning. When was it filed? What are the charges? Please, let’s hear some specifics to back up your accusations.
Please SW/DW. Time to stop lying to the public. Why can’t you just acknowledge the easy truth that you have had an attorney for many many months? You keep going back and forth denying Rufus Brown exists or that he is working for you. FIW retained a lawyer after many efforts trying to work with FIWN, to listen to their complaints, to protect us ratepayers from frivolous complaints. Did you refuse to participate in a number of studies aimed at addressing the issues you claim exist? Why? Because the actual facts would damage your effort to file a lawsuit. Its far easier for you to make ridiculous statements that the project isn’t saving money (which 100% of us ratepayers have seen in our monthly bills) or to claim falsely that Coop refuses to talk with you, than to work with the rest of us. Do you realize your distortions actually impact us working islanders?
How would you feel if you had worked your entire life, scrimped and saved to buy your little dream house on an Island in Maine, and then had someone put up a huge turbine ‘next door’ that kept you from sleeeping, caused repeated headaches, etc.? Ask yourself that question.
I have!
I wouldn’t like it one bit!
Ask the people who live closest to the turbines if they have trouble sleeping or have headaches. You’ll be surprised that this is more of an issue about a few individuals who don’t care about community, can’t acknowledge the realities of their working neighbors and who will use whatever mean or publication to mislead the public. Why is it that the 5 or 6 people who organized FIWN are seasonal residents who haven’t raised a family out here, who have considerable economic means?
What has happened on Vinalhaven is a good example of what
happens when a wind development is not properly planned or sited. As with many of the proposed and built wind
projects near homes in Maine and across the country, noise issues are a problem
for humans, and we have no idea what the true impacts are to wildlife. One of two things typically happens: the sound level limits are set too high (by
statute) and/ or the sound evaluation, which is completed by using a computer software model, is “adjusted” to
meet the statute limits. Industrial wind
turbines are the largest machines we have on this planet, and when their
football length blades are cutting the air at 200 mph, they create noise that
is destructive to the human body. The
only solution is safe and effective setbacks – a mile to two miles – from human
habitation. In a case like Vinalhaven
this was impossible, but the developers somehow get permission erect the
turbines anyway. The results – health
issues and law suits. Instead of residents having to sue the wind
companies, the wind companies should sue the noise consultants whose data is
obviously wrong when the real sound pressure levels don’t match their computer
models. Instead of playing games by trying to get sound pressure levels “barely legal”, consultants should err on the
side of caution and insist on conservative setbacks . Until the wind industry is as interested in
people and their health as they are making money, this scenario will continue
to play out again and again. The affected
residents of Vinalhaven would much rather be living a relaxed life on their
island than fighting a law suit. It’s no
fun and it costs money, but you have to give them credit for standing up for
the rights our Constitution gives them.
“…they create noise that is destructive to the human body.”
Respected scientists and doctors around the world, including the doctors of the Maine Medical Association, deny that there is any significant scientific link between windmills and illness.
Many of these studies, including the ones used by Maine’s CDC, are biased and all funded by wind companies. None of them include first hand testimony from individuals who live near turbines and are suffering the consequences. In Maine they compared health effects in Oregon where turbines run at 36 dBA day and night to health effects in Maine where turbines run at 45/55 dBA! Considering these are logarithmic scales, it is like comparing apples and oranges. They also used they Mass. health study which is being reviewed due to the flood of complaints which say it was biased. So I do not agree that these reports are written by “respected doctors and scientists.” Name the ones you are referring to.
“Name the ones you are referring to”….
Dr. Richard Jennings of the Maine Medical Association, is a credible source, for one. Here are his thoughts on the topic, as told in an editorial published in the Kennebec Journal:
“In Maine, although we are fortunate in our resources for wind, a small but vocal group opposes development of wind power, because of concerns about quality of place, of noise and of possible harm to health. Claims regarding possible harm to health are not supported by medical evidence nor medical literature.
“Nina Pierpont, M.D., cited as an authority of ‘Wind Turbine Syndrome’ (the title of her self-published book), has no medical publications. Contrary to her claim, her book was not ‘peer reviewed,’ but rather received approving comments from friends and associates. A so-called ‘study,’ involving some residents at Mars Hill and claiming negative health effects, by Dr. Michael Nissenbaum in Fort Kent, is in the same category of anecdotal reports. He simply reported what was said, with no objective confirmation.
“The sound from wind turbines does create some troublesome problems to a few people in Mars Hill, Vinalhaven and elsewhere. These problems are being addressed, and potentially corrected, with technological advances.
“Additionally, Drs. Monique and Albert Aniel have consistently opposed wind development on the same false grounds of harmful effects on health. Dr. Albert Aniel, after the Maine Medical Association’s Public Health Committee rejected his initial resolution by a vote of 8-1 a year ago, submitted a different resolution at the association’s general meeting. Although a comprehensive resolution about climate change already was approved, Aniel’s resolution encouraged further studies and dissemination of information about wind power, and it passed.
“Passage, however, in no way suggested, or reflected, any concern by the Maine Medical Association regarding negative health consequences. Now, however, the resolution is being used as a platform from which to present a distorted position of the Maine Medical Association, falsely portraying it as having legitimate and serious concerns about wind and health problems. These allegations have been widely promoted and quoted, thereby creating fear and apprehension, leading in turn to the many delays and excessive restrictions set upon development of wind as an alternative form of energy, such as we have seen in recent months.”
Dr. Jennings is a member of the Maine Medical Association and its Public Health Committee.
************
By the way, the MMA has since completely rescinded the resolution put forth by the Aniels, because of the preposterous way the resolution was being manipulated by anti-wind activists to support dubious health claims.
“The sound from wind turbines does create some troublesome problems to a few people in Mars Hill, Vinalhaven and elsewhere. These problems are being addressed, and potentially corrected, with technological advances.”
How have these problems been addressed and corrected? At Mars Hill, they have settled out of court and those people who have come to agreement with First Wind are under a gag order. This does not sound like a technological advance. In Vinalhaven, they have used the owls wings which has made a 2dBA difference in the sound, no discernible to the human ear. If the wind turbines in these two areas had been sited far enough away from homes, we would not be having this conversation. The Maine state noise regulations do not protect individuals and that is the bottom line.
If people like you could tell the truth, could stop refusing to work with your neighbors and could end your legal assault on our community, ‘we would not be having this conversation’. FIW was sited properly. What it didn’t take into account was the persistence of a few individuals to continue to lie and distort the public record.
Civil injustice deserves all the legal action that can be mustered.
The only answer , as can be seen here
from the wind shills , is to sue until they all squeal!Then sue
some more, until compensation for the damages is obtained.Maine
is a corrupt state as we know, a seething little place of elitists
having their way for too long, like Baker et. al.People are
being forced from their homes by damages you created, and you will
now pay. Uncompensated damages have a legal life of their
own, until the damage is corrected.It is no longer about the
turbines, it is about civil injustice and illegal taking. You
had you chance to settle, admit the damage, and pay.Now that is
over.Now , tell it to judges, for a long time.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$, you will lose.Good luck damaged.
They will win.
Stop suing our working community over misinformation supported by 5 or 6 individuals.
More spin from Martha50. No reputable doctor has affirmed these reports that claim wind turbine syndrome exists. What does exist apparently though is anti-community neighbor syndrome where a few individuals will do just about anything to mislead and misinform the public.
The only answer , as can be seen here from the wind shills arrogant responses to facts and reason , is to sue the perpetrators until they all squeal!
Then Sue Some More, until compensation for the damages is obtained.
More will donate to the legal cause.
Maine is a corrupt state as we know, a seething little place of elitists
having their way for too long, like Baker et. al.
People are being forced from their homes by damages you created, and you will now pay.
Uncompensated damages have a legal life of their own, until the damage is corrected.
It is no longer about the turbines.
It is about civil injustice and illegal taking.
You had you chance to settle, admit the damage, and pay.
Now that is over.
Now , tell it to judges, for a long time.$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$, you will lose.
Good luck to the damaged.
They will win.
Leave it to Arthur to blurt out the true motivations of the anti-windys here … it’s all about well-to-do seasonal residents suing working islanders for all they’re worth.
do not think so
Like Dora Mills? Be serious.
It’s easy to lose focus when a topic is as controversial and
emotional as this one is. But if we don’t
stray from the facts, the issue is simple.
Vinalhaven, as a community, approved the building of the FIW
turbines. Unfortunately, once the
turbines began operating, some of those living in the vicinity immediately
began to experience adverse health effects.
They voiced their concerns to the electric co-op and also to the
DEP.
When they received no relief and no promises of assistance,
they invested their own money into expensive sound equipment, and gave their
own time to monitor the turbine noises.
Upon collecting data and satisfying themselves that they were right and
the turbines did produce noises above the legal levels defined by Maine law, the
data was supplied to the DEP and that regulatory agency was convinced to
conduct independent tests.
Warren Brown, DEP’s sound expert, found that FIW’s turbines
did, in fact, exceed those levels. The
comments that FIW exceeded those levels “twice” don’t mean that FIW ONLY
exceeded those levels twice. It means
that within the short time period DEP conducted its test, FIW exceeded
acceptable noise levels twice. This is
what DEP’s Brown wrote:
“… there exists a
significant body of consistent meteorological and sound data indicating sound
levels greater than applicable limits. Substantial changes are recommended for
FIW nighttime operations, limiting (WTG) sound levels… to 45 dba.”
A significant body of consistent data. That’s an important statement, made by a
non-biased expert.
DEP’s James Cassida wrote to FIW on November 10, 2010. He wrote:
“The Department views the compliance issues identified at
this facility as a serious matter.
Provided that Fox Island Wind, LLC submits a revised operation protocol
to the Department for review and approval no later than January 23, 2011, and
further provided that the revised operation protocol approved by the Department
is fully implemented by Fox Island Wind LLC in a manner that ensures compliance
with Department noise standards and permit conditions, the Department can
resolve this matter without further action.”
Instead of complying, FIW stalled, argued and brought in
their attorneys. Did they apologize for
non-compliance? No. Did they immediately work to correct the
situation? No. Did they meet the
deadline given them by Maine’s regulating agency? No.
These are just a few of the FACTS:
**Fox Island Wind broke the law.
** Fox Island Wind has spent over $365,000 on attorney’s fees in
an attempt to hide their sound data from the public—and is still
attempting to do that.
**Maine citizens are continuing to suffer a degradation of
health and quality of life.
Those are facts. The
other issues, while important on the periphery, are a distraction. What we must focus on is the issue of
non-compliance. Will Maine citizens sit
back and allow a wind developer to thumb its nose at our laws—laws which WE
would be required to immediately obey if we were found to be breaking them?
One more fact: A Superior Court judge found reason to look
at this case more carefully.
Respectfully,
Karen Pease
Lexington Twp., Maine
Alas, more from Karen Pease. Please, please, please STOP. Karen, you say you are speaking just for yourself, yet you continue to misinform, mislead and create a false narrative. Your view of us Mainers is so offensive, its hard to know what to say, except to ask you to please stop. You consider us to be naive and uninformed. Why should we listen to you when we continue to look at our future and considering our options of where we want our power generation to come from, have chose a power source that is clean and brings economic benefits here, over what you want is for us to continue on a path of exporting money out of state and to do so with incredible impacts to our working community. Mainers have acted courageously to say enough is enough. We’re rallied together despite persistent naysayers like yourself who REFUSE to listen to the will of the people of Maine, to continue to advocate for a better future, one that looks to improve our economic climate and our planet. To keep jobs here in our communities, to sustain our working families and to lessen our dependence on out-of-state sources of energy.
You are in denial on so many levels. You say you are not a ring leader, yet you comment in every single possible article spreading lies and misinformation. You rally a crowd up to Augusta to try to dispel a view that is frankly anti-Maine, a view that goes against the agency and will of communities across Maine that have taken deliberate steps to evaluate wind projects and guess what, overwhelmingly supported development of wind energy in our state.
You talk about the affected on Vinalhaven and fail to tell people how those 5 or 6 people have REFUSED to work with the Coop and people in town to resolve their issues, who have litigated an incredibly expensive legal suit against the people of the Fox Islands and who continue to misinform the public. What about the working people of Vinalhaven who can now afford to keep their homes and continue to raise their families, many 5, 6 generations strong, who have saved an impending doom that was coming from a reliance on a status-quo energy policy of out-of-state dirty power?
What about the thousands of Mainers and communities across this great State who stand to benefit from wind power proposed and the future of off-shore wind that is projected to be a major source of jobs and economic benefits in our State? Do you think of the people of Maine and our communities when you wage your misinformation campaign? Do you get a kick out of attacking Mainers and their right to make up their own mind and their will?
We’ve heard your stick. It’s time for you to respect us, the majority of Mainers and islanders who support wind energy and who have made our voices heard in town meetings across our state. Please stop. Thank you.
Saddleback Ridge in Carthage Maine has 34 “receptors” on the devlopers sound modeling map.
DEP does not care. These 34 people will have no choice but to sue and counter sue and sue again. We are 8 th generation Mainers and our land will be ruined for Massachusetts WIND devlopers.
Mainers do not want wind power as shown in recent BDN polls. Especially in their backyards.
What recent BDN polls are you referring to?
How far from the turbines does Chellie live?
3 or 4 miles, far away that she never hears the noise. However, she does see the red flashing lights all night long.
Do you hear the noise from Rockland SW/DW?
At the dedication of the turbines in 2009, Comrade Baldacci, Lear Jet Chellie, and Hannah “Raise Your Taxes to Infinity” Pingree were all there extolling the virtues of wind power on Vinalhaven.
I hope the turbines stay and get much louder.
Once again BDN has published an interactive map that is inaccurate. Today LURC is meeting in Lincoln to determine the fate of Champlain Winds request to withdraw its permit for the Bowers Project. The request was done AFTER LURC had voted unanimously to deny the application. This would have been the first wind turbine project rejected by any state entity. At least 2 polite LTE were send expressing concerns about the error on the map and the same error stated in a previous BDN article. Neither were published or responded to. There are 2 possibilities; BDN reporters have not done an accurate job in their research, or First Wind has supplied information in the form they would prefer to have publicized and the BDN has run with it.
FW had a 90 day extension to come up with an alternative plan that might satisfy the reasons LURC had voted to deny the application. They failed to provide any suggestions and instead claimed company internal problems had made it too hard to do at this time. The permit had not been withdrawn and the record shows LURC has a vote to deny the permit. Hopefully BDN will finally choose to have a reporter at this possibly groundbreaking meeting in Lincoln.