Roads are no Solution

In what should be obvious to anyone who has looked at traffic problems throughout the country, simply adding more roads does not solve congestion problems. But when the people whose budget is based on road building are making decisions, too often that what happens.

Portland Press Herald:

"Some participants began the study with the idea that suburban congestion could be solved primarily through construction, perhaps with a turnpike spur or by expanding existing roadways, such as routes 22 and 114.

'But to make any road improvements last longer, we're going to have to ask communities to change how they develop,' said Carol Morris, a spokeswoman for the task force.
...
The study was conducted with $1 million from the Maine Turnpike Authority and the Maine Department of Transportation."

Construction on40-turbine wind project

Bangor Daily News:

"The Lincoln Planning Board approved the project on Dec. 1, 2008, with the other host towns eventually following suit. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection’s permit for the First Wind subsidiary came in April 2009, but the project, probably the most protested since wind-to-energy companies began investing in Maine, had been in civil court since then.

The Friends of Lincoln Lakes, a citizens group formed to oppose the project, took its series of appeals to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court but lost. Its latest appeal, to the Board of Environmental Protection on Oct. 7, was rejected."

Tidal Energy Tests in Castine

Bangor Daily News:

"TEDEC provides a much-needed component in the emerging tidal energy industry, where there is a need for independent, reliable assessment of prototype turbines, Armstrong said. There are no independent “proving grounds” where designers and developers can test those devices, he said.

With no vested interest or commercial component to its operation, he said, TEDEC can effectively evaluate whether a design works.

“We’ll look at the physics of it, does it survive in a real-life situation outside of the lab,” Armstrong said. “We’re not so much interested in the number of light bulbs it lights up, but we’ll look at whether it behaves as the developer expected and whether it is capable of providing sufficient energy that can be fed to a generating device that produces electricity.”

Damariscotta Hardware Goes Solar

"Damariscotta Hardware recently had 301 photovoltaic panels installed on the roof of the 24,000-square-foot business on Business Route 1. The panels are designed to meet about 70 percent of the store's electricity needs.

The 69-kilowatt system was installed by Maine Energy Performance Solutions of Washington.

The project represents a major step in controlling energy costs for the 55-year-old family business, said Rob Gardiner, the company's president. The store installed a wood gasification boiler last year, cutting heating oil consumption by 90 percent. Electricity stood out as the next biggest energy expense, with a bill exceeding $13,000 in 2008."

- Portland Press Herald

Protesters Block Wind Farm Site

http://www.wmtw.com/news/24154856/detail.html

in reference to:

"Activists Block Maine Wind Site"
- Activists Block Maine Wind Site - Portland News Story - WMTW Portland (view on Google Sidewiki)

Gov. King Responds to Wind Power Critics

Portland Press Herald:

"There's an old saying that if you say something that's not true often enough, people will start to believe it. Unfortunately, that seems to be happening in Maine with wind power

Opponents write letters to the editor and have press conferences alleging dark conspiracies and using scary words like destruction, vibration, industrial (this is a favorite), and even a new ''disease.''

I haven't heard them blame the demise of the Red Sox last fall on windmills yet, but it could come any day.

So, here's a shot at setting the record straight on a few of the myths now circulating:"

Sardine Plant Closing

As the reduction in fish catches impacts the fishing industry, it is inevitable that businesses will close. The question is, what will remain if and when the fish stocks rebuild? Portland Press Herald:

"Bumble Bee Foods announced today it will close its Prospect Harbor sardine processing plant, the last sardine cannery in the United States, throwing 130 people out of work in April.

Company officials blamed the closing on the latest restrictions that have reduced the herring catch by 50 percent in the five years since Bumble Bee bought the company."

Complaints Over Vinalhaven Windmills

As has happened in other places with wind turbines in close proximity to residential areas, people are finding the noise unacceptable.

Portland Press Herald: "Dedicated two months ago with great fanfare, the Fox Islands Wind Project is producing plenty of power, but also, a sense of shock among some neighbors. They say the noise, which varies with wind speed and direction, ranges from mildly annoying to so intrusive that it disturbs their sleep. And they say they lament losing the subtle silence they cherish living in the middle of Penobscot Bay -- the muffled crash of surf on the ledges and the whisper of falling snow."

Aroostook Couty Wind Farm Approved

Boston.com:

"Maine—The Maine Department of Environmental Protection has approved a permit for a wind project in the Aroostook County town of Oakfield.

The Massachusetts company, Evergreen Wind, LLC has proposed building up to 34 turbines that could generate enough energy to power more than 20,000 homes.

Evergreen filed an application with DEP in April.

The DEP said Thursday that it finds the project meets the criteria of the Natural Resources Protection Act and stormwater law."

Offshore Wind Test Sites Choosen

Portland Press Herald:

"The first experimental offshore windmill is expected to be installed late next year in waters south of Monhegan Island, off Port Clyde. Developers have yet to come forward with plans for the other two sites, one near Boon Island in York County and the other near Damariscove Island, south of Boothbay Harbor.

Baldacci called the effort the first of its kind in the country and said it holds huge potential for creating clean energy and Maine jobs. 'This is where the future lies,' he said."

Another Washington County Windfarm

Bangor Daily News:

"First Wind plans to erect 17 wind turbines on Jimmey Mountain and Owl Mountain north of Route 169 in northern Washington County. The project, dubbed Stetson II, will extend First Wind’s 38-turbine Stetson Wind facility that was completed earlier this year on a ridgeline just south of Route 169.

Massachusetts-based First Wind received regulatory approval for Stetson II earlier this year but, like other wind power companies nationwide, had trouble lining up financing after the lending market for wind energy projects collapsed because of the recession."

Wind Power Fails

The problems in Kittery and Saco show that the site for windmills need to be thoroughly assessed before turbines are put up.

Portland Press Herald:

"In Maine, the theory and the practice never matched.

Saco and Kittery bought the wind turbines with the assurance that they would generate about 90,000 kilowatts a year. Entegrity guaranteed that output with the payment promise.

Saco's windmill generated only about 16,000 kilowatts from the time it was installed in February 2008 until this August, when a meter stopped transmitting data.

In Kittery, where the windmill was supposed to power a trash transfer station and lower the electricity bill for nearby Shapleigh Middle School, the machine generated about 35,000 kilowatts from September 2008 until this fall, when hydraulic brakes malfunctioned, locking the blades in place."

Tidal Energy Project

Mainebiz:

"Portland-based Ocean Renewable Power Co. will launch a demonstration project of its proprietary tidal turbine generator technology by early next year in Cobscook Bay, and expects to connect its first full-scale turbine to the power grid by the end of 2010.

'Once launched, the Energy Tide 2 will deploy the largest ocean energy device ever installed in U.S. waters,' said Chris Sauer, president and CEO of ORPC in a release. A prototype was launched in 2007 and tested for more than a year."