Tag Archives: turbines

Nothing to cheer about in windpower setback: Maine should do a better job indicating where there is room for wind | Portland Press Herald

[Wind energy is going to be a very vital component to an overall energy plan for the future. I see wind turbines all over California and each time I do I think about just how much foreign oil is NOT being burned because of those towers. Mainers really need to look deep within and realize that we cannot drill, drill, drill our way out of the current energy situation. The planet won’t survive that kind of thoughtlessness. – KM]

Nothing to cheer about in windpower setback: Maine should do a better job indicating where there is room for wind | Portland Press Herald

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Northern Maine Community College students prepare for offshore wind emergencies | Bangor Daily News

Northern Maine Community College students prepare for offshore wind emergencies | Bangor Daily News.

DEP: Vinalhaven wind turbines too loud | Bangor Daily News

DEP: Vinalhaven wind turbines too loud | Bangor Daily News.

Wind power students describe summer in the field | Bangor Daily News

Wind power students describe summer in the field – Bangor Daily News.

Jonesport, Lubec wind farm plans gain supporters | Bangor Daily News

Jonesport, Lubec wind farm plans gain supporters | Bangor Daily News.

Grievances aired over wind turbines on Vinalhaven | Bangor Daily News

Grievances aired over wind turbines on Vinalhaven – Bangor Daily News.

A look at Maine’s Wind Power Act | Bangor Daily News

Here are links to a three-part series by the Maine Center For Public Interest Reporting published in the Bangor Daily News looking at wind energy in Maine and the laws surrounding it.

Part 1: How a task force put wind power on the fast track, and how some are now questioning the goals they themselves helped set.

Part 2: Examining the changes in rules recommended by the task force and the resulting law.

Part 3: Wind power law hasn’t prevented development conflicts

Task force had mandate to promote wind power, not study it | Bangor Daily News

[It appears The Bangor Daily News just posted the second of three parts on the Wind Energy Act of 2008. Below is a link. – KM]

Task force had mandate to promote wind power, not study it | Bangor Daily News

Some who created wind-power fast track now questioning the goals they set | Bangor Daily News

[Below is a link to the first in a three-part series by The Bangor Daily News in association with the Maine Center For Public Interest Reporting about wind power in Maine. The first part raised some very interesting issues about transparency in passing the law to deal with wind farm development. The first part also pointed out several other flaws in the Wind Energy Act of 2008. I support the idea of alternative, sustainable energy, so I really hope they figure out how to do what’s best for everyone. I’ll attempt to share each part of the series. – KM]

Some who created wind-power fast track now questioning the goals they set | Bangor Daily News

Tomorrow: Examining the changes in rules recommended by the task force and the resulting law.

State’s push for offshore wind energy intensifies | Lewiston Sun Journal

State’s push for offshore wind energy intensifies | Lewiston Sun Journal

Maine, Nova Scotia to cooperate on ocean energy development | SustainableBusiness.com

Maine, Nova Scotia To Cooperate on Ocean Energy Development.

Wind power draft hits regulation snag | Bangor Daily News

Wind power draft hits regulation snag – Bangor Daily News.

First Wind details new project in Maine | Bangor Daily News

First Wind details new project – Bangor Daily News.

Maine needs to get real in wind power debate | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

Maine needs to get real in wind power debate | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram.

Mainers full of gusto for wind power, survey finds | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

Mainers full of gusto for wind power, survey finds | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram.

Feds earmark $20M for deepwater wind power research | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

Feds earmark $20M for deepwater wind power research | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram.

Tilting at windmills

Windmill farm near Mars Hill, Maine. Photo by Kelly McInnis.

Past readers know that I very much like the use of alternative energy – solar, wind, wave.

Wind energy – from both onshore and offshore wind farms – has received a big push in Maine the past couple of years. There is plenty of wind to go around in Maine, especially along the coast, and harnessing that wind will greatly ease this nation’s addiction to foreign petroleum.

But some communities in Maine are concerned with issues associated with wind farms, namely the noise the huge turbines cause. And I’m sure more than a few Mainers are upset with the interruption in viewscape.

Here in California, wind farms have become part of the landscape mostly because of the clean energy they provide.

It is my hope that power companies and government officials will find a way to mitigate the problems so that wind farms can provide clean, sustainable energy for a very long time to come.

Here are a couple of photos Kelly McInnis shot last week at the wind farm near Mars Hill, Maine. They are published here with her permission.

Windmill farm near Mars Hill, Maine. Photo by Kelly McInnis.

State point man on offshore wind clearly energized | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

State point man on offshore wind clearly energized | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram.

Energy week’s second wind | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

Energy week’s second wind | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram.

Cape Wind receives federal approval for first offshore wind farm | SustainableBusiness.com News

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar on Wednesday approved the Cape Wind offshore wind farm, completing the last regulatory step for the project which was first propsed for Nantucket Sound about eight years ago. 

The project has been delayed throughout the permitting process by opposition from coastal residents who fear the wind turbines, which will be erected five miles from shore, will devalue coastal properties and affect tourism.

Salzar said the developer of the $1 billion wind farm must agree to additional measures to minimize the potential adverse impacts of construction and operation of the facility.

“After careful consideration of all the concerns expressed during the lengthy review and consultation process and thorough analyses of the many factors involved, I find that the public benefits weigh in favor of approving the Cape Wind project at the Horseshoe Shoal location,” Salazar said in an announcement at the State House in Boston. “With this decision we are beginning a new direction in our Nation’s energy future, ushering in America’s first offshore wind energy facility and opening a new chapter in the history of this region.”

The Cape Wind project is expected to be the first wind farm on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf, generating enough power to meet 75 percent of the electricity demand for Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket Island combined.

Click on the link to read the rest of the SustainableBusiness.com press release.