 | Green Energy |
My husband and I have been members of the Natural Resources Council of Maine, believing in its mission to protect Maine's environment. Our enthusiasm dampened, however, when we learned that NRCM was one of 16 members of the 2008 Governor's Wind Power Task Force, which recommended that 2,700 megawatts of wind capacity be developed on Maine's mountains and ridges. Morning Sentinel
The Grand Lakes of Down East Maine are a national treasure. They are under assault from First Wind. First Wind, doing business as Champlain Wind, LLC, has proposed installing 27, 428-foot industrial turbines on Bowers Mountain and Dill Ridge, which rise up at the headwaters of the Downeast Lakes Watershed. Bangor Daily News
Andrews: Did wind mandate worsen pollution? Wind velocity abated in Colorado last week when the legislature adjourned for 2010. Noxious air masses continue moving across the state, however, flattening better judgment. Hang on to your hats and your wallets."Cleaner air and cheaper energy" was the slogan when voters mandated wind and other renewable sources for 10 percent of the state's electric generation with Amendment 37 in 2004. Democratic legislators liked the idea so much that they upped the mandate to 20 percent in 2007 and boosted it this year to 30 percent. One small problem: Neither half of the slogan is true. You know what's already happened to your rates from Xcel. Will costs level off with more reliance on renewables? Not according to the Energy Information Administration, which says in the coming decade wind will cost about 75 percent more than natural gas, 50 percent more than coal, and 25 percent more than nuclear. And solar will be twice the cost of wind. Denver Post
Britain's Wind Farm are 'No Spin Zones? When Cold Hits. Some media groups like to refer to themselves as ‘no spin zones’. But among energy insiders the phrase has been applied to wind farms, given that turbines mostly operate at well below 30 percent of installed capacity. Recently, serious cold weather has badly affected Britain and its much-vaunted ‘wind power experience’ and it turns out that wind farms are, quite literally in deepest winter, no spin zones.Such is the grip the Big Freeze has had on Britain (as in northern Europe and the eastern U.S.) since early November that leading industrialists have forcibly reiterated last years’ warning about growing over-reliance on wind power. As the latest figures show, just when Britain was in the greatest need from its burgeoning wind farm industry to perform from November through January with temperatures plunging to as much as minus 20 celsius, wind power failed miserably. Energy Tribune
An ill wind blows for Denmark's green energy revolution. Denmark has long been a role model for green activists, but now it has become one of the first countries to turn against the turbines. The Telegraph
I have been advocating for wind power for decades. I never thought I would see the day when I would be opposing wind power development. However, the current frantic rush to install industrial wind on every viable mountaintop is both shortsighted and ecologically damaging. To call mountaintop wind operations “farms” is nothing more than PR. Farms suggest a positive relationship with the land. The industrial wind operations are nothing less than massive electrical generating facilities that destroy the quality of place and pose serious health problems for both humans and wildlife. By Jonathan Carter BangorMetro
In just under nine months, the residents of several Somerset county communities might see our beloved landscape and soundscape changed drastically for the remainder of our lives. Likewise, all the people of Maine could lose the scenic value of some of the state’s finest natural treasures, and few even know of the threat. Under recently amended state laws, all could occur with little consideration to the wisdom or long term implications of such a move. Times Record
‘Trading our environment for wind power’. Nancy O’Toole is a member of the Friends of the Boundary Mountains, a nonprofit that intervened in the Kibby Mountain project as well as the Sisk Mountain project before LURC now. She has a bachelor of science degree in environmental engineering and 10 years of experience with high mountain road construction and hazardous waste cleanup in towns in Utah. Sunjournal.com
I have been advocating for wind power for decades. I never thought I would see the day when I would be opposing wind power development. However, the current frantic rush to install industrial wind on every viable mountaintop is both shortsighted and ecologically damaging. All one has to do is look at the impact of the Kibby TransCanada industrial wind operation in the remote Boundary Mountains of western Maine. This is nothing more than industrial wind mountaintop removal. It is being driven by dollars and cents, not ecological sense. Mountaintop industrial wind power is not ‘green’. By Jonathan Carter. Times Record
Fast-Tracking of Wind Power Projects Generating Resistance. Now that Plum Creek's controversial development plan for Moosehead Lake has been approved by the Land Use Regulation Commission, the state planning agency is turning its attention to another controversial subject: wind. Today LURC heard advice from state officials, environmental groups and members of the public about how to proceed with an expedited permitting process for siting wind projects. Some are skeptical and angry about the fast-track for wind, while others believe it's essential to reach the state's alternative energy goals. MPBN.net
(NECN: Amy Sinclair, Augusta, Maine) - Another wind power proposal is coming under fire in Maine, and this time, so is the commission that oversees the permitting for many of Maine's industrial scale wind power projects. NECN's Amy Sinclair explains why protesters are asking Maine's Land Use Regulation Commission or "LURC" to put on the brakes. NECN.com/Boston
Industrial wind sites are not economically feasible nor environmentally sound. The industry would not exist if it were not for the tax credits, production subsidies, accelerated depreciation, guaranteed purchase of kilowatts by the grid, etc. Due to the unreliable, intermittent nature of wind energy and the inability of the grid to store electricity (unlike individual units with storage), the grid must power down fossil fuel baseline power plants because they are mandated to accept wind energy whenever it is produced. Thus, the powered down baseline plants operate at less efficiency, which produce greater pollution. So, your "green" energy ends up increasing pollution---how ironic! How green is an energy source that blasts away ridgelines and creates clearcuts in rural Maine?
Cost and Quantity of Greenhouse Gass Emissions Avoided by Wind Generation. By David MacGay www.withouthotair.com
Throwing Caution to the Wind: the growing threat of Industrial Wind Energy Development in Pennsylvania to Wildlife, Habitat and Public Lands. By Dan Boone, Consulting Conseration Biologist Boone 2
'Green' ideas don't work with real numbers applied. Read more
Today we are faced with many issues regarding the previous ecological misuse of our planet. In our mad dash to correct the maligning of our environment we are grasping at alternative sources of energy: mainly wind, solar and hydro. Wind power is the concern of this letter, and Harley Lee's project on the Redington Range is the center of that concern. I wonder if, in our rush to seek alternatives to foreign oil, we may be overlooking our most valuable local natural resources. Green, at any cost?
On Sept. 15, 2008, turbine #10 at the wind facility experienced a catastrophic failure when one of the blades came in contact with the turbine's tower, causing it to buckle during high winds. The turbine's 28-ton nacelle and three-blade rotor assembly crashed to the ground, scattering debris several hundred feet from the structure. Approximately 20 gallons of heavy oil spilled from the unit when its fluid reservoirs were damaged. Times Argus, Vermont
Maine's 'wind rush' an abuse of the public trust. An Editorial by WindAction
This paper contains a simple analysis of the amount of greenhouse gas emissions avoided by wind power and the cost per tonne of emissions avoided. It puts these figures in context by comparing them with some other ways of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from electricity generation. The conclusion: wind farms connected to the National Grid provide low value energy at high cost, and avoid little greenhouse gas emissions. Cost and Quantity of Greenhouse Gas Emissions avoided by Wind Generation. By Peter Lang
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