Voices of Support

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 Representatives 2 State House Station Augusta, Maine 04333-0002 (207) 287-1440 TTY: (207) 287-4469

Larry Dunphy PO Box 331 North Anson, ME 04958 Residence: (207) 635-2831 Skime2@roadrunner.com

                             

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.

Sincerely,

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

Fifty-Two Voices in Augusta

Tomorrow, June 15, 2011, is supposed to be the last day of the current Session of the 125th Legislature. Our Senators and Representatives have been dealing with hundreds (and hundreds) of bills since January. Reading them. Considering them. Listening to testimony, holding work sessions, caucusing… and then debating on the Floor and voting for (or against) them.

One day left.

I wasn’t surprised that the one remaining bill having to do with ‘industrial wind’ was left until the 11th hour. With dozens remaining to be acted on, it only seemed par for the course that our one hope would be dumped into the mix at the end of a very hectic session.

There were twenty common-sense and protective bills submitted, written, testified to and debated on. Nineteen were killed. And only one remained.

LD 1366, “An Act to Update the Maine Wind Energy Act”.

What originally was written as a comprehensive and ‘active’ bill had been reworked into a ‘do nothing’ bill calling for a study. While I’m not opposed to having a comprehensive examination done of the current wind energy plan; the fact is—the FACTS are already in.

Already, approximately eighty Mainers are suffering due to the inappropriate placement of industrial wind turbines. That’s a FACT. Mainers are suffering health effects AND a reduction in their property values, due to the incessant high, low and ultra-low frequency noises—and shadow flicker--produced by these megaliths.

Something had to be done. Mainers deserve protection, and the current noise standards, written before industrial wind came onto the scene, weren’t sufficient. Rep. Larry Dunphy, who has listened to his constituents and made their concerns a priority, proposed an amendment to LD 1366. His amendment called for a 1.5 mile setback from the base of a turbine to residences. It also contained a very important clause. His amendment would allow Mainers the freedom of choice. If those who lived within that 1.5 mile set-back area wished to opt out—they could petition the siting authority for a variance which would allow wind developments to be built at a lesser distance from their dwelling.

Protecting Mainers, while giving them the freedom of choice. You can’t get much fairer than that.

Why, then, did Rep. Dunphy’s amendment get defeated? The vote was 92 in favor of ‘tabling indefinitely’ and 52 opposed to that action—which, in reality, meant the amendment was killed.

But why?

Could it be that the wind industry hammered the Legislature incessantly with their tales of woe and their dire predictions? “If Maine shows an unstable climate for ‘renewable development’, we’ll take our ‘investment’ elsewhere” they warned. “’Wind’ is the only game in town”, they claimed. “A ‘small, vocal minority’ can’t be allowed to derail a plan which had unanimous support in the Legislature” they argued. And always, in the background, were rumblings intended to make citizens feel like they were selfish, planet-killing elitists who only cared about their ‘view’. For, of course, ‘wind’ was a panacea which would save the planet from the looming threat of ‘death by global warming’.

In the end, only two things are worth pondering.

First: What do the FACTS say?

And, second: Who will be strong enough, brave enough, committed enough and ethical enough to help spread those facts, educate the public, stand up to the wind lobby and not back down, even when defeat seems the norm and common-sense the exception?

As to the first: The facts are out there, and easy to find, if citizens are only willing to devote a few hours to researching this critical issue.

As to the second?

We will.

Many thanks to the Fearless, Feisty Fifty-Two. You’ve given us hope. And that is a rare and valuable commodity, these days.

Words to our Legislators

In 2008, as oil prices skyrocketed, Maine committed itself to a “wind energy plan.” Believing that adding large amounts of wind energy to our electricity mix would be a good thing for our economy, our environment, and our security, we launched a plan to install 2700 megawatts (name-plate capacity) of industrial wind turbines across hundreds of miles of Maine’s summits.

We’ve learned a lot since that time. Now we know that grid-scale wind is unaffordable, unnecessary, unreliable, and unsustainable. Now we know that grid-scale wind energy has impacts which are far greater than its negligible benefits. Now we have some experience with grid-scale wind, and we know that the laws enacted in 2008 need to be adjusted. Due to what we’ve learned, a well-organized and thoughtful series of reform legislation flooded the EUT Committee this session.

*We know that Maine’s already-clean total electricity generation capacity far exceeds our usage.
*We know wind is unreliable, unstorable, and undispatchable.
*We know the 2700 MW goal will sacrifice hundreds of Mountains for not even 5% more electricity in our grid.
*We know it is incompatible with the grid.
*We know wind needs constant back-up by base-load generation systems.
*We know that wind does not cause a material reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
*We know that only a small fraction of Maine’s electricity is generated by coal or oil, and that what we do use is obtained in North America, and not from the Middle East.
*We know that in order to get the electricity produced by wind to the Grid, a 450 mile-long high voltage transmission corridor must be built through 75 Maine towns, and that rate-payers will bear a portion of the $1.4 BILLION cost.
*We know that, per MegawattHour produced, the subsidies for wind are many times higher than those for every other energy source; and 50 to 60% of a wind project is taxpayer funded.
*We know that up to 60% of those tax-payer subsidies go overseas to countries like China, Germany and Denmark, where the turbines are manufactured.
*We know that industrial turbines are a threat to migratory birds, raptors and bats.
*We know that Maine’s storied natural resources are a major economic driver.
*We know that Maine’s #1 asset is our unequalled “Quality of Place”, and its foundation rests upon our natural resources, and that thousands of industrial turbines do not fit in this scenario.
*We know that wind developments spend much but invest little.
*MOST IMPORTANT, we know that EVERY multi-turbine, wind facility in Maine that has been sited near people now has significant unresolved disputes over turbine noise and flicker.

Now that we’ve learned all this (and more); what we DON’T know is….Why are we doing this?

LD 1366 proposes moving up the timetable for comprehensive studies of the impacts and benefits of grid-scale wind developments. It is a good idea to examine these issues, and both the minority and majority reports will do so. While these important studies need to be conducted, if passed as currently written, LD 1366 will be a ‘do nothing’ bill. Mainers need protection from the health effects of living in close proximity to wind turbines NOW. They need protection from possible devaluation of their real estate investments NOW.

The minority report which will be proposed by Representative Larry Dunphy will take two important steps. It will order the study recommended by the EUT Committee, while omitting the fiscal note pertaining to sound studies. In addition, his version of the bill will provide protection in the form of safe setbacks for industrial wind turbines—while still allowing property owners who live within those designated area to opt out and allow reduced setbacks. This version of LD 1366 is not only fair to all, but is less costly than the majority report with Rep. Fitts’ amendment.

Please vote in support of Rep. Larry Dunphy’s ‘minority report’ on LD 1366.