Tin Man
03-15-2006, 07:52
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Wind farm proposal likely set for hearing
By GLEN BOLDUC
Staff Writer
Copyright © 2006 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
AUGUSTA -- A public hearing on a proposed wind farm in the Redington Township will be set by the end of summer.
The hearing will follow a review period approved by the Land Use Regulation Commission -- the planning and zoning authority over many of Maine's rural and wilderness areas -- and will likely be held in a town near the proposed construction sites for 30 wind-energy turbines.
Commission members voted Monday to approve the organization of a hearing during their monthly meeting at the Ground Round in Augusta.
The $130 million project was proposed last fall by Maine Mountain Power, a joint venture of Endless Energy Corp. of Yarmouth and California-based Edison Mission Group.
The review period will give opponents and proponents time to gather information on the project, and build a case for the upcoming hearing.
An attorney for the Maine Appalachian Trail Club, an organization that is questioning the proposal, said the club would like time to review the proposed site, which sits along the 3,900-foot-high ridgeline between Redington Pond Range and the Black Nubble Mountains. They hope to tour the site when the snow melts in May or early June.
If approved, 12 slender, 256-foot-tall, tubular towers supporting turbines would sit on Redington; 18 would stand along the Black Nubble Mountains.
The wind farm would be built in one construction season and include dirt access roads, a maintenance building in Redington Township, utility lines, and three substations: in Redington and Wyman townships and Coplin Plantation.
The turbines, powered by 150-foot-long blades, would produce enough electricity to power 44,000 Maine homes, according to proponents.
Opponents say the turbines -- which would be visible from the Sugarloaf ski area and parts of the Appalachian Trail -- do not produce enough power to outweigh obstruction of scenic views.
Though no wind farm project has begun construction in Maine, several are in the works.
Founded in 1987, Endless Energy operates one wind turbine in Orland.
The Yarmouth company has owned the Redington Pond Range parcel since 1998, and the Black Nubble mountain parcel for about two years.
Glen Bolduc -- 623-3811, Ext. 431
[email protected]
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Follow this link (http://kennebecjournal.mainetoday.com/news/local/2530755.shtml) and go to the end of the article for some interesting reader comments including from an employee.
Wind farm proposal likely set for hearing
By GLEN BOLDUC
Staff Writer
Copyright © 2006 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
AUGUSTA -- A public hearing on a proposed wind farm in the Redington Township will be set by the end of summer.
The hearing will follow a review period approved by the Land Use Regulation Commission -- the planning and zoning authority over many of Maine's rural and wilderness areas -- and will likely be held in a town near the proposed construction sites for 30 wind-energy turbines.
Commission members voted Monday to approve the organization of a hearing during their monthly meeting at the Ground Round in Augusta.
The $130 million project was proposed last fall by Maine Mountain Power, a joint venture of Endless Energy Corp. of Yarmouth and California-based Edison Mission Group.
The review period will give opponents and proponents time to gather information on the project, and build a case for the upcoming hearing.
An attorney for the Maine Appalachian Trail Club, an organization that is questioning the proposal, said the club would like time to review the proposed site, which sits along the 3,900-foot-high ridgeline between Redington Pond Range and the Black Nubble Mountains. They hope to tour the site when the snow melts in May or early June.
If approved, 12 slender, 256-foot-tall, tubular towers supporting turbines would sit on Redington; 18 would stand along the Black Nubble Mountains.
The wind farm would be built in one construction season and include dirt access roads, a maintenance building in Redington Township, utility lines, and three substations: in Redington and Wyman townships and Coplin Plantation.
The turbines, powered by 150-foot-long blades, would produce enough electricity to power 44,000 Maine homes, according to proponents.
Opponents say the turbines -- which would be visible from the Sugarloaf ski area and parts of the Appalachian Trail -- do not produce enough power to outweigh obstruction of scenic views.
Though no wind farm project has begun construction in Maine, several are in the works.
Founded in 1987, Endless Energy operates one wind turbine in Orland.
The Yarmouth company has owned the Redington Pond Range parcel since 1998, and the Black Nubble mountain parcel for about two years.
Glen Bolduc -- 623-3811, Ext. 431
[email protected]
---
Follow this link (http://kennebecjournal.mainetoday.com/news/local/2530755.shtml) and go to the end of the article for some interesting reader comments including from an employee.