Wind farms don’t fit Moosehead region unspoiled image, say opponents

By Jason Agrell

Special to The Observer

Lately, the topic of conversation among residents of the Moosehead Lake region has been wind turbines.

Contributed photo

BIG WIND NOT WELCOME — Two organizations, Moosehead Region Futures Committee and Saving Maine, have been formed to oppose large-scale industrial wind development in unorganized territory within view of Greenville and its namesake lake.

Two wind power companies, EverPower and First Wind/SunEdison, have already been clearing land and erecting meteorological towers to gather data in the vicinity of Moose Mountain, Big Indian Pond, and Misery, Misery Gore, Chase Stream, and Johnson Mountain Townships, to determine the feasibility of two wind turbine projects.

EverPower is gathering data for a possible 24-turbine project in the Indian Pond area, and First Wind/SunEdison for a 26-turbine project on Misery Ridge.

In a region that is known for its untouched scenic beauty, the proposal of a wind turbine project such as those being considered by EverPower and First Wind/SunEdison is alarming to many area residents. Signs declaring “Save Moosehead, say no to wind” have been appearing all over the Moosehead area and beyond. Those behind the signs have very serious concerns about large-scale industrial wind development.

It is no secret that tourism is what drives business in the Moosehead Lake region. Private citizens and business owners are very concerned that turbine projects in the area will have an effect on not only the scenery, but their livelihoods, which depend largely on tourism. In fact, over the last year, the Moosehead Lake Region Branding Initiative Committee, has dubbed the area “America’s Crown Jewel.”

Two key organizations are behind the campaign to stop “big wind” from coming to the Moosehead region: Moosehead Region Futures Committee, organized in 2005 as a voice of the citizens of the area on matters of economy, development, and conservation, and Saving Maine, a nonprofit organization that assists citizen  groups in their fight to oppose wind power in their communities.

Maine’s 2007 Wind Energy Act created a scenario in which permitting for wind projects on 14,000 acres of Maine land would be expedited. This act left citizens in unorganized territories with no ability to oppose projects proposed in their areas. That means that if EverPower and First Wind/SunEdison should apply for permits to create industrial wind farms in the Big Indian Pond and Misery Ridge areas, residents of these areas will be essentially powerless to oppose them.

Though there is little that individuals can do to oppose these developments, the Moosehead Region Futures Committee “may request ‘interested party’ status and begin commenting on pre-application materials sent from the developer to the DEP and from the DEP to the developer. The MRFC can also raise questions about research, surveys, and information that may be lacking.” If the application for a building permit is declared complete by the DEP, the MRFC will have 20 days to request, in writing, a public hearing — but that is hardly the end of the process, as there is no guarantee that such a hearing would prevent the project from being approved.

Saving Maine exists to support groups such as the MRFC in fighting a battle that they believe is not a fair fight. According to Richard McDonald, president of Saving Maine, Maine is a poor place for such aggressive wind development. According to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission reports and the Energy Information Administration, grid-scale wind projects in Maine produce at only 27 percent of their capacity. In fact, after six years of operational wind farms in the state, only 1.5 percent of electricity is produced by wind.

McDonald, and other opponents of industrial wind in Maine feel that the state’s expedited wind act is the result of alarmism in Augusta. The purpose of the bill was to decrease Maine’s dependence on foreign oil to meet energy demands, and to reduce the state’s carbon footprint. However, McDonald points out that only 14 percent of the state’s carbon emissions are the result of electrical generation and that Maine no longer produces any electricity with coal or oil.

Wind opponents point out that Maine has one of the highest renewable energy portfolio standards in the country at 40 percent, and already exceeds this standard with 50 percent of electricity already produced by renewables.

Those against the development of industrial wind in the Moosehead Region just don’t see any benefit. Though wind energy is supported by many environmentalists, those that oppose development in the region feel that the reality of wind power would mean no real reduction in Maine’s carbon footprint, and only the destruction of miles and miles of forested ridgelines.

The changes to the landscape, they believe, would be tangible and irreversible, while the overall benefit of such a project is questionable.  With the economy of the Moosehead Region so closely tied to its untouched natural beauty, many fear what projects such as these will mean for the long-term future of the area.

McDonald sums up the feelings of those that oppose industrial wind in Moosehead, when he says that “we have just dubbed the region ‘America’s Crown Jewel.’ Do we really want to let big wind make it a crown of thorns?”

Contributed photo

SCENIC VIEW — Though wind energy is supported by many environmentalists, those that oppose development in the Moosehead region feel that the reality of wind power would mean no real reduction in Maine’s carbon footprint, and only the destruction of miles and miles of forested ridgelines like the proposed site of SunEdison’s Misery Ridge wind project as seen from Brassua Lake.