A CRITICAL LOOK AT MAINE'S WIND ACT

A three-part series revealing the behind-the-scenes maneuvering that led to one the biggest changes in the last decade in Maine’s land use regulations.

Recent stories

Wind power’s grip on Augusta weakening as ‘God’s Country’ presses its case

By: |
View of Bald Mountain from Highland Plantation

They came from the townships and plantations of Concord, Lexington, Highland, Carrying Place and Pleasant Ridge. They set out for the statehouse in Augusta from the five sparsely populated backcountry communities set between the Kennebec and Carrabassett rivers, from a wooded intervale etched by streams, dappled by lakes and cradled by the hills and mountains of western Maine. As they left, many of them passed a neatly lettered sign at the intersection of Long Falls Dam and Sandy Stream roads. The sign summed up what they were going to say to legislators later that day: “This is God’s Country. Don’t let wind towers come here and make it look like hell.” Continue Reading →

Filed under: Energy, Environment, Stories, Baldacci, First wind, Maine legislature, wind power

Wind-swept task force set the rules

By: |

A critical look at Maine’s wind act: Part 2

Editor’s note: This is part two of a three-part series on the 2008 law to fast-track wind turbine development. AUGUSTA — Gov. John Baldacci established the Governor’s Task Force on Wind Power Development by executive order on May 8, 2007 with the expectation it would make Maine a leader in the wind power industry. Baldacci’s timing was perfect:

• The day before, a CNN story had reported that the price of gas “has hit a new record high, averaging $3.07 for a gallon of self-serve regular in the United States.”
• Climate change was in the news almost daily. • Developers and environmentalists had just fought a battle in western Maine over construction of a huge wind power project, ending in defeat for the project. That battle demonstrated a significant failing in state law: Maine’s tangle of environmental regulations simply didn’t include tools or standards appropriate for considering the placement of 400-foot-plus turbines smack in the middle of some of the state’s wildest lands. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Energy, Environment, Baldacci, First wind, Kurt Adams, LURC, Pat McGowan, wind power

Wind power bandwagon hits bumps in the road

By: |
Gov. John Baldacci views the Mars Hill wind farm developed by UPC Wind from the air on Tuesday, March 25, 2008. Photo BDN

A critical look at Maine’s wind act: Part 1
Editor’s note: This is part one of a three-part series on the 2008 law to fast-track wind turbine development. By Naomi Schalit Senior Reporter ©Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting

AUGUSTA — The Wind Energy Act of 2008, which gave developers a fast track to putting up wind turbines in some of the state’s treasured high ground, was a special interest bill justified at the time in the name of jobs, energy independence and climate change. “There is tremendous potential for Maine to become a leader in clean, renewable energy, including wind energy,” said Gov. John Baldacci, who appointed the task force whose report led to the bill. “This kind of investment would create jobs and help to expand

Maine’s economy.”

But now, two years after the law was championed by Baldacci, some members of the task force, all of whom supported the Wind Energy Act, are questioning whether the goals they set for wind power can or even should be achieved. Critics and even some one-time supporters say the proponents of the law were swept up in a tidal wave of enthusiasm for a technology that turns out to require significant sacrifice from the state, but has little to offer Maine in return. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Energy, Environment, Baldacci, First wind, LURC, Maine Audubon, Natural Resources Council of Maine, wind power