Monday, November 30, 2009

Venting on Wind

NOTE: This blog entry is a work in progress. As I become educated on the pros and cons of wind development, I may add, change or delete some portions. This is an opinion piece, and I invite readers to add their two cents worth and make their voices heard. Above all, I desire information...verifiable data that is pertinent to this issue. If we have the truth, we Mainers can make intelligent and conscientious decisions regarding our heritage, our environment, and our quality of life.



I’ve spent the last few days having fun on GAG. I’ve written of dwarves being accidentally swallowed by hippos, of doing a stand-up comedy routine on the heels of strippers…I even ambushed my friend Jack on DUD and wrote of testicles getting caught between slats in a chair. These were all enjoyable topics.

Well…they were a blast for me to WRITE! I’m a bit of an idiot, that way. I hope they were also entertaining to read.

But I have a serious side. In addition to being a writer, I am also an American…a Mainer who is a concerned citizen. I’m a country girl and I enjoy a simple life, but sometimes a woman has to step outside her comfort zone and get involved in issues that have importance and impact, whether she likes such a role, or not.

I live in a small township in western Maine. I am a native of this great state, and I love these hills, these forests and these people with a passion. I am a conscientious woman, too, I believe. I take care to cherish this earth…to make my impact on her as minimal as possible. I suppose some people would call me green.

Wind power is coming—HAS COME—to Maine. Mars Hill, Vinalhaven, Freedom. Three communities that have already begun to experience the effects of huge wind turbines pulsing in their back yards. And now, to my dismay, Independence Wind is exploring the possibility of developing a large swath of pristine mountaintop range in my own neighborhood. Right next door, in the tiny village of Highland Plantation.

Before I proceed, I would like to state a fact. I am NOT against wind power. I am absolutely in favor of harnessing the power provided by sun, wind, water and the thermal energy available underneath our feet. I crave independence from foreign oil, and I would love to see us end the tapping of underground oil reservoirs and the burning of fossil fuels. These are the facts.

I like to think that I am a responsible citizen. A conscientious human being. I believe I am ‘green’. I also understand that many people will roll their eyes as they read that. That they will say, ‘Yeah, sure! Karen wants environmentally friendly power--as long as it is not in her own back yard!’

Of course, many people will feel that way…will think that of me! Of course they will! They will believe that I am only green when it suits me. When it doesn’t directly impact ME.

I know this. In all honesty, I’ve had those same thoughts about other folks in the past.

That being said, it comes down to this. I am not convinced that the erection of gigantic wind turbines on our remote mountaintops is a ‘green’ solution to our current energy crises. I am beginning to believe that the development of offshore wind farms will have the least detrimental impact on our economy and our environment. But I am a babe in the woods. My education is just beginning. In only the past few weeks have I begun to research this fairly new phenomenon that has come—and is coming rapidly and in exponential proportions—to the Pine Tree State.

There are several very important issues that concern, even disturb me. As with every relatively new resource, there is much we don’t know. First and foremost, I worry about the health issues. Many studies are being conducted into the new phenomenon called ‘Wind Turbine Syndrome’. The data collected thus far is chilling, and I urge you to read the words of an expert by clicking on that link I’ve provided. I’ve tried to make it easy to do, so please…take a moment and read the opinions of professionals who are ‘in the know’.

And if you won’t believe the expertise of someone ‘from away’, I also have access to the written testimony of some real Mainers who are living in the shadow of these great windmills. Ethan Hall and Cheryl Lindgren are residents of Vinalhaven, one of the island jewels that sparkle off our wild Atlantic coast. These two people have been adversely affected, and to a great degree, by the turbines that have just recently come on-line on their island home. I am stunned by the immediate and severe consequences these two residents have suffered as inhabitants in the fall-out zone of turbine noise and blade pulse. I think anyone who reads their heart-felt and desperate letters will agree. I will enthusiastically make these letters available to anyone who would like to contact me at roomtomove@tds.net. I would humbly ask that you be interested enough to do so, whether you live in my neighborhood, or not. Mr. Hall’s and Ms. Lindgren’s experiences are chilling, alarming, distressing. But I implore you to read their words, yourselves, and make up your own minds.

Another issue that causes me great concern is the actual impact such a development will have on the earth that surrounds us…our mountains, our trees, and those animals and lesser plants that flourish (or more importantly, those that struggle to survive) in these western woods. Former governor Angus King and his partner, Rob Gardiner have informed us that more than twenty miles of new road will be cut through our pristine woodlands. They’ve outlined how the crowns of several unique mountains will be blasted away and leveled in order to build the foundations or ‘bases’ that will support windmills which exceed four hundred feet in height. They’ve stated that year-round roads will be maintained—plowed, sanded, perhaps even salted or layered with calcium chloride—to allow access to the turbines, no matter what the season.



And yet, I heard not one word--not one FACT, that is—about how such monumental changes to topography and environment will influence our wildlife. There is no way in the world we can tell—not yet, anyway—how such an intrusion into the wilds of Highland Plantation will affect the native animals. I am certainly no expert. Far, far from it! But I can easily see how a wild creature’s mating habits and cycles could be changed due to a sudden intrusion of activity; a constant, unceasing noise; and the vibrations caused by mammoth blades thrumming through the air and causing pulse waves to buffet all that are within their path. I can imagine hibernation patterns changing. Hunting and eating instincts going awry. I can even picture our woodland creatures becoming less timid and more aggressive as they are subjected to such a colossal change in their natural setting. Living beings were not designed to withstand constant noise and unnatural vibrations.

As I’ve said, I’m no expert, no biologist. But I know animals intimately, and I have instincts of my own. In my humble opinion, there is no way the wildlife in our forests can escape unscathed from such a rapid and large-scale intrusion into their ecosystem.

There are so many, many more and diverse issues that must be researched before a large-scale development (and we’re talking upwards of fifty wind turbine towers!) can even be considered. Many questions and concerns come to mind.

What will the advent of a wind farm do to the value of the real estate in its proximity? If residents dislike—or can’t stand—living near the mills, will they be able to sell their homes at a profit, allowing them to move away? Will they even be able to recoup the original cost of their property, or would the value have plummeted so much that they must sell at a loss, or stay--and be miserable?

** December 1, 2009: After attempting for several days to contact fellow real estate agents in Mars Hill, a town that has hosted a wind turbine development for approximately two years, I finally spoke with two, earlier today. According to one owner of a real estate agency in Mars Hill, the development has not seemed to negatively affect property values. In fact, this agent cited several new homes built in the last year within close proximity to the towers. He also said that buyers considering the region have often REQUESTED property that had views of the windmills. To his knowledge, none of the Mars Hill residents who live within the corridor with the most noise pollution have placed their homes on the market. Until that happens, there will be no sales data to compare to...and that is the only way to honestly and realistically judge market value. Thus far, the advent of the twenty turbines has not seemed to adversely affect sales in the region. It is important to note, however, that the Mars Hill project is 'in town'--in an already-developed area--and the one proposed in Highland will be in a wilderness region. It may be years before we know the true impact of such a development on property values.

Will tourism still flourish once our wilderness is no longer unspoiled? As the paper industry moves abroad, as the wood-turning mills close and the shoe shops fold and the woolen mills and shirt factories go under, tourism is Maine’s last hope. Millions are drawn to our rugged terrain, to our fresh air and our unpolluted rivers, lakes and streams. Will this multitude of nature-lovers and seekers of peace still choose to visit our neck of the woods, if its spine is corrupted by industrial steel and concrete, and by unnatural sound and pulsation?

And then, there is the cost. Not the cost to health, or environment or peace of mind. Not the psychological expense of having to view the unsightly where once there was naught but beauty. I’m alluding to actual cost. Governor King and Mr. Gardiner admitted that currently--right now--it is cheaper to use natural gas than it is to harness the wind. Admitted that until generating power from the wind becomes less expensive, there won’t be a good market for the energy it produces. And yet, they wish to hurry their plan through, to put it before LURC. Just in case. For a time when it WILL BE an economically sound undertaking. By then, all roadblocks will have been removed.

As ‘pro-environment’ as these business partners and friends profess to be (and I believe they ARE, don’t get me wrong)…but as ‘green’ as these esteemed gentlemen are, they are not interested in proceeding with a plan that is economically unsound, even if it might be—MIGHT BE—better for the environment and the earth as a whole. Not if it can't turn a healthy profit.

That says something. To me, that says something very significant.

I have a copy of the expedited law passed by the legislature…the law that—basically—removes all vital restrictions to the development of wind farms in unorganized territories. In all honesty, I haven’t finished reading it yet. It was so disturbing that I had to take a break.

That our legislators—those men and women who are supposed to be representing US, and who are supposed to be stewards of this great state—both its land and its inhabitants—that they passed such a law without debate, without discussion, and without giving we, THE PEOPLE, advance warning or a chance to educate ourselves about it and make our will known, is appalling. Unconscionable. It makes me mad enough to chew nails, and causes me to want to fire the whole lot of them. How dare they? How dare they?

That’s the crux of the matter, to my way of thinking. We--the residents, the citizens, the voters and the tax-payers--have become non-entities. Our opinions, our wishes and our will have become unimportant to those with power. To those with money and influence. Our ‘one vote’? Not even asked for. Certainly, not wanted.

I also have a copy of a letter that Mr. Rob Gardiner wrote expressing his opinions--and even more importantly, his DIRECTIVES—regarding the drafting of the expedited law to facilitate wind energy in Maine. It was stunning to see how each desire this developer expressed, each stipulation he required, was incorporated into that expedited law. I’ll say it again: I am no expert. But I’ll eat my hat if it doesn’t appear that a developer—someone standing to make millions of dollars on wind farm development and expansion—designed that law which runs roughshod over the citizens and the environment of Maine. Oh, there are some safeguards in the law...but those protections appear to only affect any state or federally owned and/or managed lands and trails. There is nothing I've found, yet, that addresses protecting lands personally owned, or the rights of private citizens. Instead, there are the words 'tangible benefits'. As if we, the people, can be brought in line by vague promises of greatly reduced taxes or free electricity. As if we can be that easily bought.

I will also make Mr. Gardiner's letter available to any citizen concerned enough to request it. All you have to do is ask. Also, for those interested, here is the link to the Governor's Task Force on Wind. The more informed we become, the better equipped we will be to make the tough decisions that lie ahead. With rights come responsibilities, and educating ourselves is part of the process. I hope these links will answer some of your questions, for I am surely not able to. Not yet.



It comes down to this. We are Americans, and we are Mainers. We have rights. As well, we have charges! It is up to us, as intelligent and concerned individuals, to care for our planet and for each other. I love my neighbors in Highland Plantation. I honestly and truly empathize with their terrible financial tax burdens. I understand desperation, worry and fear. I completely comprehend a person’s need to take care of ‘home’ first, before concerning himself with the needs of a community at large, or an environment that seems, at times, to be vast and indestructible. But it is in times like these that my fellow Mainers show their stuff, display their true colors, and join together to help each other. That we use our Yankee ingenuity to form a plan to carefully and conscientiously address the problems facing us--be they financial, environmental, or civic. Above all, we hardy folk know when to say, ‘Enough is enough!’ We know when someone is running roughshod over us. We know our rights.

And friends, one of those rights, those freedoms? It is the right to say, ‘No!’ We have a duty to say, ‘Hold on! Wait just a second! We haven’t given this tremendous issue the time, care and attention that such a life-changing and landscape-altering development requires. We say NO! Until the average Joe Mainer has the opportunity to educate himself on this complex issue, and until each voter is allowed to make a collective decision, we exercise our RIGHT to say NO!’

Please, people…please. Stand up. Straighten your shoulders and brush yourselves off. And remember this! Please.

We have the right to say ‘No!’ The Governor, the Legislature...they work for US. For you and me. Not for developers, not for special interest groups, not for the lobbyists of corporations and not for the wealthy. They work for you and me. The little people with the big responsibilities.

And we have the right to tell them 'No!'

*****************************************
The above commentary consists of the thoughts and opinions of Karen Bessey Pease, and should not be attributed to any other entity or organization. I invite any reader with a differing (or like-minded) opinion to comment. This is America, and we all have a right to express our opinions. Too, I am an open-minded individual, and would welcome the expertise and input of those professionals who are involved in the development of wind turbine power, or its effects on the land and inhabitants of this planet we call 'home'.

*****************************************
To read a perspective piece on FOREIGN wind turbine manufacturing and OUR stimulus dollars, please read my comment below, dated 12/05/2009

Also, if you are interested in obtaining information on sound issues with wind turbines, please click this link. We owe it to this earth and to ourselves to become educated on these aspects of 'wind' if we expect to be able to make sound and responsible decisions.

17 comments:

  1. there are two power alternatives for the near future..wind or nuclear..think I'd rather try the wind first....

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi, Anon.

    I am not disagreeing with you...but we can't be haphazard in our placement, and we do not have the right, imo, to sacrifice natural resources and others' health and well-being when there are other, better alternatives. I would like to see conservation top the list...how many of us could trim our consumption by a large margin, if we weren't so spoiled or lazy. I know I could--and will, and have begun small steps, already.

    Thank you for your words, and I encourage you to visit and speak again.

    Karen

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Karen

    I agree with you & think you should send copies to your local politicians asking them to properly research the impacts before allowing anything like this to happen.

    What about a third alternative - Solar Power?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Dozy.

    Thanks for visiting. Solar power will have a role to play in the coming decades, for sure. I am encouraged to see how many new home builders are incorporating solar panels and systems into the construction of these buildings.

    Unfortunately, I am ignorant regarding any commercially viable solar options. But I am sure there are researchers and developers looking into that option, as well.

    Well executed, long-term research is the key, I think. We can't make intelligent and ethical decisions without reliable data. And reliable and accurate data usually takes a very long time to collect.

    Isn't this fun??

    Thanks again, Dozy dear. Stick around, won't you?

    Karen

    ReplyDelete
  5. How about a giant river turbine to harness all that pouring rain you kep bragging about Mrs Pease.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hey, hey, Ali! Keeping me on my toes before I'm even dressed, this morning! I can always count on you!

    Yeah...the rain and the rivers and the power available through nothing more elemental than gravity and a liquid's propensity to seek its own level...

    Here's something that has caused me to pause and scratch my head. In the last few years, Maine has been REMOVING some of the dams that have held back our waters. I believe (and again...this is my recollection...I'll need to 'look it up' to be 100% sure) these dams have been dismantled in an effort to allow Atlantic Salmon to return to spawning grounds further upriver. Obviously, humans almost inevitably have some kind of impact on nature when we try to harness those power sources we describe as 'free' and renewable. By trying to restore those spawning grounds to the fish, we've eliminated some pre-existing infrastructure that would have allowed us to decrease our reliance on an alternative source of electricity. This was another of those 'which is better for the environment, as a whole?' issues that has caused much debate. And it is also (off on a bit of a tangent) another controversy in which real estate property values were affected. Homeowners who had enjoyed 'river frontage' for generations were suddenly finding themselves with nothing more than a trickle of water coursing along their vastly altered shorelines.

    Like I said...we humans can't seem to make a move without impacting several members of our local flora and fauna. Every decision has consequences, and it takes great forethought and a calculated weighing of the benefits and risks to each, before we should move foreward with our best-laid plans.

    Now, as far as bragging...would I, one of your bestest friends and most ardent admirers...ever brag about this incessant rain?

    You bet your gumboots, pumpkin! Pbbbtt!

    (Aw...now you've got me feeling all penitent! Dang it! I really, REALLY wish you could have some of my rain, Ali g! But my rain dances on your behalf have been completely ineffectual, lately. I think the god of rain has something against wrinkles...)

    Take care, and stay out of the hot sun, my friend.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I've just read a perspective piece from the Lewiston Sun Journal, dated November 22, 2009.

    Quoted beow is the Dallas Morning News' Jim Landers.

    'WASHINGTON - The rush to America of foreign wind-turbine manufacturers shows that the Obama administration's plan for stimulating the creation of green-energy jobs is going in an odd direction.

    Two weeks ago, U.S. Renewable Energy Group, led by Dallas investor Cappy McGarr, announced plans to build a $1.5 billion wind energy farm in West Texas. About a third of the money would come from federal stimulus funds. All of the wind turbines (and much of the remaining investment capital) would come from China.

    "We believe that this project will greatly contribute to job creation, the goals of the Obama administration and our desire to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and increase our energy independence," McGarr said in announcing the deal.

    There would be perhaps 330 jobs created in Texas. Most would be temporary construction jobs. Meanwhile, thousands of Chinese workers in the northeastern industrial city Shenyang would build the labor-intensive turbines.

    Most of the wind energy projects seeking money under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act rely on foreign-made turbines. Even the industry we have here at home, led by GE, is looking abroad. GE's technology will power the gearboxes of the turbines for the U.S. Renewable Energy Group. The gearboxes will be made in China.

    U.S. companies emerging from the financial shocks of the last year haven't started investing in American factory jobs. Richard Fisher, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, told an Austin audience last week that the company CEOs he speaks with are more interested in investing abroad.

    ...To fix the big economic imbalances of the U.S. economy, administration economists say, Americans must save more, import less and sell more U.S. goods to the world. This is particularly important in the U.S. relationship with China, which is America's biggest creditor.

    Democrats, with union support, included a "Buy America" provision in the stimulus bill. This hasn't proved to be an obstacle to moving ahead with wind projects that rely on foreign-made turbines.

    President Barack Obama said the stimulus bill would create environmentally friendly manufacturing jobs in America. He's using the same rhetoric to promote legislation that would curb greenhouse gas emissions.

    To get there, however, it now looks like we'll have to rely on foreign investors...'


    **** This bothers me. This makes me MAD. OUR stimulus dollars, from OUR tax monies, intended to create jobs in OUR country and for OUR citizens, are largely benefiting Chinese workers. And Chinese investors are purchasing an interest in our so-called 'green' energy sources...while American investors prefer to gamble on overseas ventures.

    Am I missing something, here? Why is it that no one is saying 'NO!' Why are we not pitching a huge fit? Something is terribly, desperately wrong...with our leaders, with our top companies and investors, and with American citizens, in general. We're letting OUR independence slip away. We're handing OUR money over. OUR money. Yours and mine.

    How many citizens have to say 'No!' before our will is given credence?

    IF America goes 'wind' on the huge scale that its proponents (and developers) are touting--if, in fact, this is seen as the best answer to our energy dilemma, then surely these turbines should be manufactured right here. In America. Right HERE!

    This is my opinion, only...but darn it, I'm mad! IF we are to be the ones to suffer from any negative impacts that might be created by these huge industrial developments, surely WE should receive, at the VERY least, the economic benefits.

    Shouldn't we?

    To read Mr. Landers piece in its entirety, please check out the Sun Journal's website at www.sunjournal.com/node/567375

    ReplyDelete
  8. I have just added a link to the end of 'Venting on Wind'. If you are interested in educating yourselves about the noise issues surrounding wind turbines, please check it out.

    Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  9. What a travesty. I am glad you have posted this on your blog. Angus King & Rob Gardner are hypocrites of the highest order. They both worked to help protect Maine's "special places" and they will boast of those credentials. But now they want to destroy Maine's "special places" for their own eager greed to cash in on all the subsidies and guarantees that come with wind turbines. Its an industry brought to you by Enron people and wouldn't exist without heavy government subsidies and preferential treatment.
    Please know you are not alone. An excellent website in Maine is www.friendsoflincolnlakes.org Click on the loon icon to view the slide show, which contrasts First Wind's Stetson Mt. project with the beautiful Lincoln Lakes where First Wind wants to put in a 60 MW project. Also view http://www.windtaskforce.org/ the website for the Citizens Task Force on Wind Power, the recently formed statewide coalition of a dozen local groups and others who are instrumental in educating people about industrial wind sites.
    Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thank you, Brad, for commenting. And most especially, thanks for providing additional links where concerned citizens (and we should ALL be concerned, with this many issues confronting us) can go to become informed individuals.

    Please feel free to add your voice to this discussion any time!

    Karen

    ReplyDelete
  11. It bothers me when I see foregin oil and wind power used together. Less then 2% of electricity is produced with oil. The governors past and present King and Baldacci keep talking about foregin oil to scare people into wind! Maine is a very green state when it come to producing electricity. We make more then we need and export the rest yet our electric rates are high compared to other states??? Look at the transmission projects that need to be installed in order to connect these projects that the rate payers are going to pay for. It all adds to higher electric cost and no benefits for us. Yet ex government officals get very wealthy.... It is wrong that our government officals are spending their time in office concentrating on setting their jobs up for when they leave government instead of trying to make Maine a better place!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thank you, Anon #2.

    Excellent points with regards to Maine's energy consumption, as well as the scare tactics used to get the general public to tow the line. And, sadly, you are not alone in your assessment of the ulterior motives of some of our elected officials. How tragic, that we've lost faith with those in whom we trusted to lead with integrity. And how appalling, that we've LET it come to this.

    I don't know the solutions--how to restore order to this chaos--but I truly believe that beginning a dialogue between the good people of Maine and this country, and disseminating honest and pertinent information to those citizens, is a good place to start.

    Thanks again.

    Karen

    ReplyDelete
  13. PART 1 of 2 due to character constraints:

    Here's the connection that most people don't get: The proliferation of sprawling industrial wind sites across rural Maine and the $1.4 billion CMP (owned by Spanish company Iberdola) expansion of the 345 Killer-volt lines across central & southern Maine, from Orrington to Elliot.

    THE CONNECTION BETWEEN CMP’S MAINE POWER RELIABILITY PROGRAM AND WIND POWER PROJECTS

    Citizen’s Task Force on Wind Power (CTFWP), http://www.windtaskforce.org/ opposes the approval by the Maine PUC of CMP’s proposed expansion of transmission lines. CTFWP understands that transmission capacity is adequate for Maine’s existing needs and supports, planned, necessary upgrades to our existing Maine grid to better service our local needs. This should be an on-going function, part of the company’s business plan. Consistent upgrades and making Maine’s local grid “smarter” and more efficient should ensure reliable delivery of electricity for decades to come without adding large transmission capacity.

    However, CMP is owned by utility giant Iberdrola of Spain. CMP makes its money by transmitting electricity. It is no longer the friendly, locally owned utility we are used to. Iberdrola is the world’s second largest operator of utility scale (or industrial) wind sites (which the industry euphemistically refer to as “wind farms”). This company stands to make millions of dollars at taxpayers’ and ratepayers’ expense if the transmission lines are expanded. Not just for utility scale wind sites envisioned in Maine, but for every kilowatt that flows through Maine from Canada to destinations in southern New England. Thus, they are aggressively pursuing expansion of transmission lines that does nothing positive for Maine but will wreak havoc with our quality of place and threaten our health and well being.

    Iberdrola, First Wind, Trans Canada, Angus King and others lobbied heavily for the Maine Legislature to enact the so-called Expedited Wind Permitting statute in 2008. (MRSA Title 35-A, Chapter 34-A). That statute incorporates the goals of the Governor’s Task Force on Wind Power (a stacked deck to ensure an outcome if there ever was one!) for installed capacity for wind energy in Maine. 2,000 MW by 2015 and 2,700 MW land-based and 300 MW off-shore by 2020. This was driven through the legislature as an emergency measure without any thought to adequately educating the public about the pro’s and con’s of utility scale wind and thus with little input from an unsuspecting citizenry. Strictly a deal to open the floodgates for ravaging rural Maine with industrial wind turbines. Wind turbines erected not for the potential of generating a substantial amount of electricity---because they do not---but rather to suck millions of dollars in subsidies from the taxpayers and expensive electricity costs from ratepayers. What the industry calls a “wind farm” is more appropriately a “subsidy plantation”.

    Any way you look at it, the wind sites are the reason for the huge, health menacing transmission line expansion and without the powerline expansion, the sprawling industrial wind sites never get built!

    ReplyDelete
  14. PART 2 of 2:

    There has been relentless pressure for years to open Maine up for sprawling industrial wind sites. Simply put, we are seen as a poor, rural state that has large tracts of land owned by a single entity. Perfect for siting a “wind farm”. Overlooked is the fact that most of the state is rated as “poor” wind energy potential, meaning that a wind turbine in Maine is likely to produce less than a quarter (25%) of its rated capacity. It doesn’t matter, as the wind industry is so heavily subsidized and given preferential market treatment that each kilowatt generated earns money in three ways: the grid must purchase it; it earns 2.1 cents production tax credit; it can be sold as a Renewable Energy Credit.

    What does meeting the installed capacity of 2,700 MW mean to rural Maine? This analysis is based on the “Rollins Project” of First Wind in Lincoln as a typical installation utilizing 1.5 MW GE turbines. Rollins is rated at 60 MW, with 40 turbines, each 389 feet high from base to apex of the blades. To install these 40 turbines, it means blasting away more than 7 miles of the ridgelines of Rollins Mt. and four unnamed ridges in the Rocky Dundee area. It means a network of 60 foot wide access roads up and across all these slopes. Tying together the turbines and the feeder to the Bangor Hydro lines means 20 miles of powerlines. The total footprint of the turbine pads, access roads, powerlines, and other infrastructure means at least 1,000 acres permanently clearcut. What isn’t graveled over will be kept clear using herbicides. Thus, the silt and herbicides of the project end up washing down from the ridges into 15 lakes and ponds and into three major rivers. Please refer to www.friendsoflincolnlakes.org for more information. Click on the loon icon to view the slide show that includes photos of First Wind’s Stetson I project.

    If the state were to meet the goal of 2,700 MW of installed capacity, based on the Rollins Project, it means 45 more similar sized projects. 45 X 7= 315 miles of ridgelines blasted away. If the 1.5 MW turbines are used, it means 45 X 40=1,800 turbines. 45 X 1,000=45,000 acres permanently clearcut. All this destruction of natural resources, fragmentation of wildlife habitat and disruption of the lives of people living within the impact zone of the turbines is not, remember, for 2,700 MW but 25%, or 675 MW, just a bit more than the Calpine generating plant in Westbrook, which takes less than 100 acres and is a reliable baseline generating plant, not the unreliable, unpredictable, intermittent generation of wind turbines.

    Maine does not need 45 sprawling industrial wind sites
    Maine does not need to expand any transmission lines
    Maine does not need to destroy what we cherish to feed electricity, whether from wind sites or from Canada, to Southern New England

    Stop CMP/Iberdrola’s $1.4 billion folly that threatens the health and well being of Mainers. Pull the Plug!

    Contact Brad Blake: bblake02@maine.rr.com

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hello, Brad, and thank you so much for this insightful comment. I will add your link for Friends of Lincoln Lakes to my blog posting 'More Wind from The F.A.R.M.', to make it easier for readers to access it.

    It is important that Maine citizens educate themselves about the truths surrounding these developments, and you are helping to do just that. Thank you, again.

    I believe it is also very critical that we contact those who are supposed to be representing us at the state and national level, and make our voices heard on this vital issue. The consequences are not temporary, and the stakes are high.

    If anyone in my neighborhood would like more information about the project proposed for Highland Plantation, feel free to email Friends of the Highland Mountains at highlandmts@gmail.com, or call Alan at 399-4850.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hello Karen,

    I, too, am a "newby" when it comes to wind power. I have been educating myself using http://www.wind-watch.org/ as a tool and a jumping off place to so many sites that have info.

    One of the incredulous facts that I have come up with is that with all the environmental damage, all the human suffering from noise and "shadow flicker" - all of this - not one single coal fired plant has been shut down since wind "farms" have been in the mix. In fact, since wind is so erratic, other forms of power have to be run as backup when there is no wind and this starting up and shutting down of other power sources lets off more co2s than if they were online at a constant level.

    And what tics me off is Dora Ann Mills, our Maine health thingamabob says there is no health concerns from these wind towers. Rubbish!

    I'll keep in touch. This is a fight we must all get involved in and WIN. And we can if we stick together, get educated, and get involved.

    Jo

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hey Jo!

    So great to hear from you! Boy, are you right! Right on the health issues, and on the 'green' debate. But unfortunately, the majority of citizens only hear what the government (behind the push for Big Wind) and the developers (who are looking to make Big Bucks from Big Wind)advertise. After all, they have the resources to blanket us with false information or shine us on with incomplete data and promises that they aren't willing to guarantee in writing.

    That's what makes this informational campaign so important. We have to talk about this with everyone we meet. We have to encourage ordinary citizens to care enough to get educated and involved. We have to stop letting others with ulterior motives make the important decisions about OUR health, and OUR homes and OUR state (and country and planet). We have to start making our voices heard. We have to demand honest answers. We have to listen to witnesses, and read reports, and give reasoned thought to this new phenomenon. And then, when the people are armed with the truth, we have to stand up and say 'no'.

    And we have to make sure that OUR voices carry the clout that our constitution promised us they would.

    The clock is ticking. The developers and the administratoin know that. I believe they know that there is only a very small window of opportunity in which to begin their projects... and then the people will shut them down. So we have to work diligently to spread the facts. With knowledge comes power. So I thank you for making the effort to gain that knowledge, Jo.

    We have people who live in the shadows of Maine's industrial wind plants coming to speak to the locals on 1/16. Some of them were 100% FOR the wind turbines and didn't learn the truth until it was too late. Let's hope their words can help stop this from happening all over this state.

    Thanks again, and please do stay in touch.

    ReplyDelete