Today, the residents of Lexington and Concord Townships and Highland Plantation, Maine, took a stand. In a press conference in the State Capitol, we requested that Iberdrola Renewables and Highland Wind LLC abandon their wind development plans due to the fact that a majority of the residents signed petitions in opposition to grid-scale wind developments in our communities. We also asked Governor LePage to support our colllective will by using the powers of his office to remove us from the Expedited Permitting Area. Our Senator, our Representative and our Somerset County Commissioners showed their support--for which we are grateful. Below is the letter sent by Rep. Larry Dunphy, District 88.  House of Representatives2 State House Station (207) 287-1440 TTY: (207) 287-4469 |
Larry Dunphy North Residence: (207) 635-2831 |
November 14, 2011
To Whom it May Concern:
This is a noteworthy day. Today, Maine citizens—American citizens–are standing up and stepping forward to make sure that they have a ‘say’ in determining the future of their communities.
Constituents from three communities in my district have spoken, and I intend to support them. Just as I will respect majority votes in New Portland or Bingham or Caratunk, so will I defend the determination made by the citizens of Highland, Lexington and Concord. They have spoken and their voices echo a resounding “No!” to industrial wind turbine facilities on the ridgelines in their communities. I urge Iberdrola Renewables and Highland Wind to abandon their development plans for this particular corner of rural Somerset County and I urge the Governor to support these citizens. The People have spoken. We need to listen.
The current Administration has vowed to put “People before politics”. Under former Governor John Baldacci, the Wind Energy Act was marketed as a panacea for our energy problems. But since those panic-driven days of 2008, we have learned much about the impacts and the benefits of wind-generated electricity. People were not put before politics when the Wind Energy Act, favoring one industry, rezoned 2/3 of the State of Maine as an industrial zone for grid-scale wind facilities.
My constituents in Highland, Lexington and Concord have been proactive. They’ve educated themselves about this issue and they’ve made their desires known. They were denied input when their community was rezoned, but they are speaking on the record today. This isn’t a secret ballot. My constituents feel strongly about this issue. They have publicly put their names on a ballot and sealed it with their signatures. As their Representative, it is my intention to support their votes.
Larry Dunphy
Anson, Bingham, Caratunk, Carrabassett Valley, Embden, Jackman, Moose River, Moscow, New Portland, Wellington and Plantations of Brighton, Coplin, Dennistown, Highland, Pleasant Ridge, The Forks and West Forks, plus the unorganized territories of Concord, Lexington, and Wyman Townships, Northeast Somerset (including Rockwood Strip), Northwest Somerset and Seboomook Lake
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