First Wind is considering developing another wind site in Maine, this time on Bowers Mountain in Carroll Plantation. First Wind is already Maine's largest wind operator, with 42 MW at Mars Hill and 57 MW online at Stetson Mountain sites -- plus 26 more MW at Stetson II coming online this spring, and DEP approval secured for a proposed 51 MW project in Oakfield. Next steps include compiling the data from the three test towers on the site, and engaging in a dialogue with the people living in the area. If you look at the map of Bowers Mountain, you can see that it's north of the Grand Lakes system, just south of Route 6, about halfway between Lincoln and the Canadian border at Vanceboro. From satellite photos, the area seems to have been mostly cut over relatively recently.
Wind's the thing today in Atlantic Canada, with reports that Bangor Hydro's parent Emera (also owner of Nova Scotia Power) has gobbled up the remaining shares of the Digby, NS wind project -- 20 turbines, with a 20-year power purchase agreement with Nova Scotia Power. Emera projects that the generators will be online by the end of 2010 and will produce enough energy to serve 10,000 homes. Nova Scotia Power also has a stake in two other wind projects being developed in Nova Scotia: a 49% interest in the Point Tupper project on the southwest tip of Cape Breton Island, and the entire Nuttby Mountain project in the Cobequid Mountains.
Maine's Governor Baldacci has traveled to Washington, DC to meet with President Obama and ten other governors on energy issues. His stated priorities include deepwater offshore wind and other ocean energy technologies, residential weatherization, and the potential for a federal climate change bill. Meanwhile, state representative Alexander Cornell du Houx, a young military veteran, has made his own trip to DC to work on energy issues.
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Showing posts with label Mars Hill. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mars Hill. Show all posts
1/25/2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
A trio of Maine news stories, all surrounding offshore wind. First, a report of noise complaints from the three turbines installed this fall on the island of Vinalhaven.
Next, proposed legislation by Sen. (and Gov.-candidate) Peter Mills would create a standard "benefits package" of annual payments of $8,000 or $14,000 per megawatt of installed wind energy capacity to hosting municipalities. Existing wind developments pay either full taxes, or a negotiated rate. For example, the town of Mars Hill is projected to receive $9.8 million from First Wind over 20 year -- about $487,000 a year or $11,600 per MW of capacity; NRCM projects that the town of Oakfield, where Maine DEP has approved the siting of a 34-turbine facility, would receive roughly $11.8 million over 20 years, or $588,300 a year and $16,400 per MW. The wind industry and supporting players are concerned about raising the cost of doing business in Maine even higher, which would drive away investment. To give a sense of the value to the Maine economy of promoting wind development, John Cooney of Maine-based construction company Reed & Reed -- which itself is transitioning to wind from its traditional bridge- and road-building, estimated that his company has spent $288,000 in wages per MW of wind energy installed on Kibby Mountain, more than 95 percent of which went to Maine residents earning an average hourly wage of $31. Not bad, green-collar economy!
Finally, the Rockland-based Ocean Energy Institute (a not-for-profit) is developing plans for a pilot project in Maine that would take hydrogen from seawater and nitrogen from the air to form ammonia, which then can be used as a type of fuel similar to propane. Distributed wind generation can be used to generate energy, which could then be stored as ammonia until needed (e.g. when the wind stops blowing). OEI faces technical and commercial challenges, as well as regulatory ones -- for example, ammonia is not classified as a fuel by US DOE, which would need to be changed for OEI's plans to take flight.
Next, proposed legislation by Sen. (and Gov.-candidate) Peter Mills would create a standard "benefits package" of annual payments of $8,000 or $14,000 per megawatt of installed wind energy capacity to hosting municipalities. Existing wind developments pay either full taxes, or a negotiated rate. For example, the town of Mars Hill is projected to receive $9.8 million from First Wind over 20 year -- about $487,000 a year or $11,600 per MW of capacity; NRCM projects that the town of Oakfield, where Maine DEP has approved the siting of a 34-turbine facility, would receive roughly $11.8 million over 20 years, or $588,300 a year and $16,400 per MW. The wind industry and supporting players are concerned about raising the cost of doing business in Maine even higher, which would drive away investment. To give a sense of the value to the Maine economy of promoting wind development, John Cooney of Maine-based construction company Reed & Reed -- which itself is transitioning to wind from its traditional bridge- and road-building, estimated that his company has spent $288,000 in wages per MW of wind energy installed on Kibby Mountain, more than 95 percent of which went to Maine residents earning an average hourly wage of $31. Not bad, green-collar economy!
Finally, the Rockland-based Ocean Energy Institute (a not-for-profit) is developing plans for a pilot project in Maine that would take hydrogen from seawater and nitrogen from the air to form ammonia, which then can be used as a type of fuel similar to propane. Distributed wind generation can be used to generate energy, which could then be stored as ammonia until needed (e.g. when the wind stops blowing). OEI faces technical and commercial challenges, as well as regulatory ones -- for example, ammonia is not classified as a fuel by US DOE, which would need to be changed for OEI's plans to take flight.
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