Advertisement
What People are Reading
Recent
Popular Alltime
Recent Comments
- If SoPo wants to help
19 hours 23 min ago - Jump to our Web site to find
22 hours 29 min ago - Mark Verrill is clearly not
1 day 15 hours ago - Russ, clearly you are
1 day 16 hours ago - Not to be confused with The
1 day 17 hours ago - It is really nice that there
1 day 23 hours ago - I am a member of that
41 min 9 sec ago - "the order also gives
2 days 11 hours ago - What kind of grocery store
2 days 12 hours ago - "Selectman Ronald Riendeau
2 days 18 hours ago
Advertisement
Letter: Wind series unfair to task force
Aug 30, 2010 11:40 am
I write to express my disappointment regarding a series of articles authored by Naomi Schalit of the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting that did not accurately represent the efforts of the Governor’s Wind Power Task Force.
Gov. Baldacci established the task force with very general goals, recognizing that Maine’s regulations concerning wind power projects were outdated and in need of review.
He brought together a diverse group of individuals, including members who had recently opposed the Redington Wind Project. There were robust discussions, significant public input and an open process guided by a neutral facilitator.
After a year of work, the task force developed recommendations that the governor presented as legislation, which was unanimously adopted by the full Legislature.
There was nothing unusual about how the task force went about its work. It brought together different views, sought input, invited expert comment and worked for agreement.
Schalit wrote that the governor made “the unusual move” of sending me to urge task force members to issue a set of consensus recommendations. In fact, that is a normal move and was suggested by the task force chairman and the facilitator as a helpful tool to encourage members to work through tough issues.
I speak out because the articles convey an impression that there is something illegitimate about the task force and its work. That impression is unfair and does a serious disservice to the diligent and good-faith efforts by all involved to develop a path forward for both wind energy and environmental stewardship in Maine.
Karin Tilberg, senior policy adviser
Office of Gov. John E. Baldacci
Augusta
Comments
Steve Thurston says:
Ms. Tilberg criticizes Naomi Shalit for unfairly characterizing the process, but the incriminating words in Shalit’s 3 part series came not from Shalit, but from those interviewed who were involved in the process. The Chairman of the Task Force said no calculation of the number of turbines required to achieve 2700 MW was ever done (as many as eighteen hundred 1.5 MW turbines on 360 miles of mountain tops), and it is clear that no one bothered to figure out that 2700 MW of wind power at a 25% capacity factor would only provide about 2% of the generation capacity of the ISO-NE grid. This suggests the process was designed to obscure the true impacts of wind power while greatly overstating its insignificant benefits.
The Wind Law was not passed unanimously as Tilberg claims. It was passed “under the gavel” which means “by unanimous consent” without debate or a roll call vote. The legislative record of this law shows that “suspension of the rules” was employed at every step to assure passage. A law which unraveled 50 years of protection of Maine’s priceless scenic heritage passed through both houses of the legislature and was signed into law in 3 weeks! It’s a sad testament to the legislature that it was asleep at the switch when the 2700 MW train barreled through Augusta in April 2008.
Maine is self sufficient with a greater percentage of renewable generation than any other state. Maine does not need more generators. If there is a demand for electricity elsewhere in the grid Hydro-Quebec offers unsubsidized low cost electricity. Vermont just signed a new 20 year contract for dependable, low priced Quebec hydro electricity. Maine should do the same. Destroying the scenic beauty of Maine’s wild places for wind power must not be permitted to continue.
Steve Thurston co-chair
Citizens Task Force on Wind Power