News
Category:
USA and Maine
King's personal bailout came in the form of a $407,000 "success fee" he received in 2011 from a wind energy project that remains in business today only because it received a $102 million federal loan King played a major role in securing.
Also filed under [
General]
The Bicknell's thrush - a medium-sized migrating songbird - has cleared the first stage of a long route that could lead to it being declared a threatened or endangered species, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Tuesday.
Also filed under [
Impact on Wildlife|
Impact on Birds]
King's company applied for the loan guarantee under an ‘innovative technology' grant. The report shows that King's technology was not, in fact, innovative- it has been widely used commercially before the Record Hill project.
Also filed under [
Tax Breaks & Subsidies]
Congress scrutinizes funding for King's wind power project
March 23, 2012 by David Sharp in Sun Journal
March 23, 2012 by David Sharp in Sun Journal
In Tuesday's report, the congressional committee questioned whether the technology employed in the Record Hill project was sufficiently innovative to qualify for loan guarantees, and whether loan guarantees were even necessary given the strong credit rating of Yale University, one of the project partners.
Also filed under [
Tax Breaks & Subsidies]
Election results, outside Mass., may leave clean energy industry in limbo
November 3, 2010 by Kyle Alspach in Mass High Tech
November 3, 2010 by Kyle Alspach in Mass High Tech
Kenderdine said a large number of states that have passed renewable energy quotas for their utilities may find those requirements in danger, once new governors take office.
In Maine, meanwhile, the push for developing wind power both on land and offshore may lose steam under LePage as the new governor, Rothstein said.
Also filed under [
Energy Policy|
Massachusetts]
Wind turbine noise: noise complaints predictable
October 30, 2010 by Stephen Ambrose and Robert Rand in Herald Gazette
October 30, 2010 by Stephen Ambrose and Robert Rand in Herald Gazette
Applicants and regulators should have foreseen the negative noise response from neighbors living near wind turbine sites. By their not adequately understanding the sound character generated by wind turbines, appropriate corrections to prevent annoyance were not included in the noise predictions. Wind turbine noise has a unique and visceral sound character, which may be perceived as being twice as loud as measured.
Also filed under [
Noise]
After months of preparation, First Wind abruptly canceled its plans to go public after its stock failed to launch within the price range the company was seeking. ...But William Downes, a Cape Elizabeth financial analyst, said he's skeptical First Wind will be able to attract the needed capital. ...Unless Shaw and Dearborn put in more money, or First Wind finds a buyer, Downes said, the company could go under.
Also filed under [
General]
The industry's rapid growth has been sapped this year by the economic downturn, and by low natural gas prices that have driven down wholesale electricity costs and made wind less competitive. Installed capacity is off 71 percent from last year, down to 2007 levels, according to the American Wind Energy Association.
Also filed under [
General]
University of Maine adviser: Small wind turbines not economically viable solution
October 7, 2010 by Michael Shepherd in The Maine Campus
October 7, 2010 by Michael Shepherd in The Maine Campus
Calculations by LaBrecque and his team of students found a typical $16,500 windmill only produces between 200 and 500 kilowatt hours of electricity per year - not enough to keep a 100-watt light bulb running for a year.
This amounts to a $30 to $80 cost savings per year - meaning the windmill, if saving $80 a year, would pay for itself only after 206 years.
Also filed under [
Technology]
As more wind projects are developed closer to communities in densely populated areas, a number of homeowners within close range are complaining about noise. This often raises the question: "When does wind become an unacceptable source of noise pollution?"
Also filed under [
Noise]
Wind-turbine sections squeeze through 1935 Rumford bridge
August 18, 2010 by Terry Karkos in Sun Journal
August 18, 2010 by Terry Karkos in Sun Journal
Maine State Police troopers were escorting a huge wind-turbine tower section through both towns when the convoy met a steel truss bridge built in 1935 over the Androscoggin River on Route 108. ...He said Southern Tier Express is only hauling two complete wind turbine towers through Maine to Iowa in this job.
Also filed under [
General]
Boston-based First Wind Holdings LLC is preparing an initial public offering, in which it hopes to list common stock on the Nasdaq market under the symbol WIND. The prospectus, which remains incomplete, doesn't specify the number of shares being offered or the price per share. Also missing is how much money the company hopes to raise.
Also filed under [
General]
The Carper-Snowe-Brown-Collins Offshore Wind Bill provides the offshore wind industry with enhanced stability by extending production and investment tax credits for offshore wind until 2020. The senators say these provisions are vital because of the long lead times required to permit and construct wind turbines offshore, compared to onshore wind energy.
Offshore wind includes any wind turbine located in the inland navigable waters of the United States, including coastal waters and the Great Lakes.
Also filed under [
Energy Policy]
More complications for wind power in Maine: Local residents react to excessive and unexpected noise
January 29, 2010 by Andy Stone in Vermont Journal of Environmental Law
January 29, 2010 by Andy Stone in Vermont Journal of Environmental Law
In Vinalhaven, a small island community off the coast of central Maine, the recent installation of three massive wind towers was hailed by residents and developers as the answer to the island's energy woes, but as soon as the turbines started turning this past November, some local residents began to regret what they now feel was a "devil's bargain."
Also filed under [
Impact on People|
Noise]
Electricity from wind farms off the Maine coast is likely to cost more than what customers now pay, experts say, and a power purchase deal for a proposed offshore wind project in Rhode Island is raising questions about how much.
Also filed under [
Impact on Economy|
Energy Policy]
Many aspects of the sale of NB Power have both angered and confused people, but none it seems more so than the issue of access to the grid post-sale.
The New Brunswick government says nothing will change, while the premiers of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland have said the sale will effectively block their access to New England and others have expressed concerns it will end the province's forays into green energy.
Also filed under [
Transmission|
Canada]
Hydro-Quebec's move last month to boost its power exports to the United States by acquiring New Brunswick Power's transmission lines has raised eyebrows in New England, where renewable energy ventures would face stiff competition from low-cost hydro generated north of the border.
According to the terms of the $4.4 billion deal, Hydro-Quebec - Canada's largest electricity generator - will acquire the assets of New Brunswick Power, including the Pointe Lepreau nuclear generating station and large transmission lines with links to the United States electric grid.
Also filed under [
General]
Northeast emissions project plots course for national plan
October 4, 2009 by John Richardson in Portland Press Herald
October 4, 2009 by John Richardson in Portland Press Herald
Maine was one of 10 states to create the nation's first market-based system to fight climate change. By putting a price on carbon dioxide emissions, it encourages large power plants to become cleaner and more efficient.
It's too early to measure any effects on pollution or on electricity prices, especially given a recession that has reduced production - and thus emissions - far more than any government action.
Also filed under [
Energy Policy]
Crum said they first learned three years ago about problems associated with wind turbine clutter from people seeing significantly different radar images.
"We knew about it, but we didn't realize how big of a problem it could be, because most of the wind farms that had been out there in the past were smaller and not these wind farms that we're seeing now with turbines of 400 to 500 feet tall," Crum said.
Also filed under [
Safety]
Saint John-based Irving Oil Ltd. is studying the potential construction of a 500- to 600-megawatt natural gas-fired power plant to sell into the energy-hungry New England market.
The project was revealed as New Brunswick Premier Shawn Graham and Maine Gov. John Baldacci were in Saint John announcing their governments' intention to explore the development of an energy corridor to move electricity and natural gas between the Maritimes and New England.
Also filed under [
Energy Policy|
Canada]