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12/15/09
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update Energy task force to name offshore wind demo sites
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUGUSTA — Maine will take another step toward bolstering its wind power potential this week when a task force announces up to four final demonstration sites for projects off its coast.
“We’ve spent a lot of time in this process meeting with people who would be affected by these activities going up in this area of the ocean, primarily fishermen,” said state geologist Robert Marvinney, leader of a working group of the Governor’s Ocean Energy Task Force. Gov. John Baldacci will accept the group’s recommen-dations when they are announced at the State House today.
State law permits the group to select one to five sites where floating platforms, anchoring systems and new lightweight blades can be tested for deep-water, offshore wind power. In October, the list of potential sites was narrowed to four: near Boon Island off York in southern Maine, near Damariscove Island south of Boothbay Harbor, south of Monhegan Island off Port Clyde and off Cutler in eastern Maine.
The University of Maine, which has received an $8 million federal grant for offshore wind power studies, will be the developer on one of the sites.
Land-based wind power development is already in full swing in Maine, where three major projects are generating power for the grid, three others are being developed, and more are on the drawing boards.
Turbines anchored to the ocean floor or on floating platforms farther offshore are seen as a source for enormous volumes of additional clean energy.
While leading a wind power trade mission to Europe this fall, Baldacci and others traveled to Norway to see the world’s first offshore, floating windmill platform. Baldacci wants to import the technology to Maine and make the state a leader in offshore innovation in wind power.
The demonstration sites to be announced today are the floating variety, and they must be where wind speeds are an average of 17 mph and the ocean is 60 meters or more deep. The sites also must be in areas that are within state-controlled waters and free of obstructions.
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Recent comments
Mikey Moonbat needs to go back to the dreaded private sector.
Karenlite, "friends?" You're kidding, right?
The state should just hire a state employee to live in every home to monitor and protect us.
I don't need a card OR a dispensary...get all the smoke I can handle, thank you!
appreciate the help too baddog, it will be a good time for sure!
I'm hopeful this will be something that will exceed our expectations!
I'm certain, however, that there is an ocean kelp or a plankton of some sort that these things will somehow harm.
We already can't put solar panels in the desert, so our options are getting a bit limited.
I would hope we would go after Tidal Power More
I for the Life of Me have to wonder how they (pinwheels) are going to stand up in the Ocean Environment.
I just do not feel they are the answer for Maine, with everything that I have read about them.
When that Pickens Fellow got involved that made the hair on the back of my neck stand Up.
For Sure It Did
If that made the hair on the back of your neck stand up, go on to LURC's website and see how many new wind power permit applications have been rubber stamped or are in the process, especially by "First Wind" all it's in subsidiaries that have been formed. Nothing but a bunch of former Enron crooks and politicos looking for the big fianancial kill, based on TARP funs, Government subsidies - simply put - YOUR TAX DOLLARS. Why is it that almost no one is asking any hard questions regarding these projects? Reverse NIMBY? It's all OK as long as it's not in my back yard! LOOK at where they're being built and proposed. First Wind's projects are all in an area that the DOE regards as being number 7 out of 7 rating classes for wind potential. The worst rating category is "poor" and that's where these projects are being built and new ones being proposed. DOES that make sense to anyone? Only First Wind, because they understand that the small towns in these areas don't have the resources to fight these projects. They also understand that they'll never operate them long term, stick em alll over the landscape, take all the tax dollars you can grab, and then suddenly disappear. It's all nothing more than an eleborate Ponzi scheme - and you're being sucked into it by your local and state government. WAKE UP!
The administrationsTARP blank checks that subsidize these foolish floating pinwheels is absolutely wrong. I am dumbstruck as is my fellow commentator of the northwoods. This is another obamanational rape.
Wait until they start building the "infrastructure " for the wind farms. Enormous transmission lines from north to south in Maine. Because the energy is to go to Mass in the summer and Canada in the winter.
The people might not want the transmission lines. Or the sky high electrical bills. But the corporations do.
So naturally....baldaci and all will say we have to have them. And so we will have them.
The fact that First Wind has multiple lawsuits and allegations from the NY Attorney General's office makes no difference. LURC taking 1.7 million in fees from Plum Creed developers is just fine. They are under staffed. The average citizen has to do what those who can pay the fees want them to do.
And that is called PAY TO PLAY.
First Wind's parent company UPC 's founder was in business in Italy with Oreste Vigorito. Brian Caffyn founder of UPC even lived next door in Italy to Vigorito. They had IVPC, a wind farm business over there. Vigorito has been indicted and was under house arrest. Seems he was building wind farms which were not working. First Wind 's Stetson Mt wind farm comes to mind. It is not online.
Vigorito would take govt subsidies and start a wind farm. THEN SEND THE MONEY TO THE US. I DON'T THINK OUR LAWS ARE AS STRICT. THEY GO TO JAIL OVER THERE FOR TAKING BRIBES.
Over here, if you get caught....you call it a fee because you are under staffed. Then go on wih business as usual.
Please see the following on Denmark. Wind is proving nightmarish over there.
"Denmark, the world’s most wind-intensive nation, with more than 6,000 turbines generating 19% of its electricity, has yet to close a single fossil-fuel plant. It requires 50% more coal-generated electricity to cover wind power’s unpredictability, and pollution and carbon dioxide emissions have risen (by 36% in 2006 alone)".
"Niels Gram of the Danish Federation of Industries says, “windmills are a mistake and economically make no sense.” Aase Madsen , the Chair of Energy Policy in the Danish Parliament, calls it “a terribly expensive disaster.”
The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported in 2008, on a dollar per MWh basis, the U.S. government subsidizes wind at $23.34 — compared to reliable energy sources: natural gas at 25¢; coal at 44¢; hydro at 67¢; and nuclear at $1.59, leading to what some U.S. commentators call “a huge corporate welfare feeding frenzy.” The Wall Street Journal advises that “wind generation is the prime example of what can go wrong when the government decides to pick winners.”
"A recent detailed analysis (focusing mainly on Spain) finds that for every job created by state-funded support of renewables, particularly wind energy, 2.2 jobs are lost. Each wind industry job created cost almost $2-million in subsidies".
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fpcomment/archive/2009/04/08/wind-power-is-a-complete-disaster.aspx
It is all about the money. Not saving our environment. At first baldaci and the gang said we had to have wind farms to save the environment and go green.
The "tell" as in a poker game was western states were going to beat the east for the lucrative energy market. So FERC declared in western states only the wind farm corporations had to pay for their own transmisssion lines.
Canada was going to get the eastern market next. The very next day Canada was slammed in our newspapers. Bangor Hydro is out of Canada.
Now it looks like they and Central Maine Electric out of Spain are going to build the transmission lines themselves.They are not supposed to pass the cost on to rate payers. That is like Larry Summers last Sunday saying he thought the banks would start lending soon...since the American tax payers paid billions to bail them out. With virtually no strings attached. While we still can't afford health care for the poor. Lots of money for the banks and corporations though. Hope Central Maine Electric and Bangor Hydro want to be nice and not just make money.
PinWheels In Maine
What A Stupid Thang
Mess with Our Scenery and for What
Nothin Provin except in Denmark I guess.
What A waste of Our Resources
To really develop something That Really would help Us All.