A forum scheduled for next week will feature several representatives from proposed wind farm projects in the Oxford Hills. The Wind Energy Educational Forum will take place from 7 to 9 a.m. at Four Seasons Function Center on Route 26. Town Manager David Holt of Norway will moderate the forum, which is sponsored by the Western Maine Economic Development Council. The event is free and includes a continental breakfast.

A subsidiary of the state's largest wind power manufacturer will get Maine's first long-term electricity supply contract for its proposed 60-megawatt Rollins Mountain project in Penobscot County, officials said this week. The Maine Public Utilities Commission unanimously approved awarding the 20-year contract to First Wind Holding LLC ...While a state permit allowing construction of the project, which has yet to attract investors, has been appealed by a group opposing the wind farm, proponents are optimistic that the contract will help secure investors in the project.

A $250 million project to erect 48 wind turbines on four peaks in Somerset County was outlined at a meeting of about 30 people Thursday night. Because Highland Plantation is considered an unorganized territory, Independence Wind principals Angus King and Robert Gardiner are expected to file an application for permits for their plan with Maine's Land Use Regulation Commission by early November.

Selectmen on Tuesday learned of a citizens' petition calling for a 180-day moratorium on wind power development in town. Kirk Nadeau, president of Kean Engineering of Turner, has proposed erecting three, 1.5 megawatt turbines on Streaked Mountain but said he will not proceed without the town's support. James Parker, who is gathering signatures to bring the petition to selectmen, and ultimately to townspeople for a vote, said the full impact of a wind facility has not been explored.

The Maine Public Utilities Commission has reached a deal with First Wind Holdings LLC, a subsidiary of Evergreen Wind Power III LLC, for electricity generated at the company's $130 million, 60-megawatt Rollins Mountain wind farm in Penobscot County, according to a press release from the PUC. No dollar figure can be attached to the contract until it is signed, which is expected to occur next week, Evelyn deFrees, a PUC spokesperson, told Mainebiz.

Gov. John Baldacci and others addressed the group at the beginning of the day, laying out national trends and where Maine fits in. In the afternoon, attendees sat in on sessions ranging from wind power generation for cities and towns to energy transmission issues in Maine. Outside, about 40 people protested Maine's wind power projects, and the current regulatory process.

Hundreds of wind energy enthusiasts gathered for Maine's first "Wind Energy Conference" in Augusta today. Supporters say wind power could mean big business for Maine. But as NECN's Amy Sinclair reports, not all Mainers are enthusiastic about these winds of change. To supporters, these turning turbines are symbols of clean renewable energy and economic growth. Opponents view them as symbols of government waste and environmental destruction.

With dozens of wind turbines proposed in a half-dozen towns in various stages of planning, the Wind Farm Development Committee of Rumford is planning a panel discussion on the pros and cons of such development. The forum begins at 6 p.m. Oct. 13 ...The local committee is particularly concerned with tentative plans by First Wind, LLC, of Newton, Mass., to site a 40-megawatt wind farm on the ridge that connects Black, South Twin and North Twin mountains. Most of the site is in Rumford, with a small portion in Roxbury.

An event in Augusta today that's billed as Maine's first statewide conference on wind energy is expected to draw the state's first organized protest against industrial-scale wind power. ...It's unclear how many opponents will show up at today's Maine Wind Energy Conference. But organizers of the protest say they plan to stand in the Augusta Civic Center parking lot and try to engage conference participants on their way inside. "There's huge resistance to wind," said Steve Thurston, a Vermont resident whose family has a camp on Roxbury Pond. "People are frantic about what's coming."

More than two dozen picketers from small towns across Maine staged a protest in front of the Augusta Civic Center Tuesday over what they say is a flawed and unfair process to develop industrial wind projects in the state. Inside, Governor John Baldacci and other state officials were hosting a daylong wind energy conference. Protestors say they want to put the state and wind developers on notice that they won't stand idle any longer.

Offshore wind power may have the capacity to help the state free itself from its dependence on foreign oil, but plenty of Mainers have concerns as well as hopes about its potential. More than 70 people gathered Tuesday night at the Samoset Resort for the last in a series of information sessions about several proposed test sites for offshore wind power generation held throughout September along the Maine coast. Many of them, including Margaret Schuler of Edgecomb, shared their opinions ..."Why would we lay waste to some of our best and most beautiful areas for a test site?" she asked.

The Board of Selectmen gave its approval Sept. 24 for the town to pursue a state grant to develop two wind generators at the police station. The funds, explained Conservation Commission chairman Sarah Lachance, are part of a federal stimulus package given to the state. "It offers opportunities for municipalities and schools for community demonstration projects up to $50,000 with a 20 percent match," Lachance said.

The town plans to explore the possibility of wind power. The only question is whether it will move forward on its own or with a prospective developer. The Town Council last week authorized Town Manager Roger Raymond to move forward with wind testing on a 51-acre parcel the town purchased last year from the Buck Estates. The property is the highest point in the town, and the town has viewed it as a potential site for wind generators.

Public reaction to a proposed wind turbine test site near an island off York's coast revealed both enthusiasm and concern. ...During the meeting, everyone from birdwatchers to lobstermen expressed concerns about the plan and how it could affect the region. Jim Henderson, of the Southern Maine Lobstermen's Association, said he had concern about the wreck of the Empire Knight cargo ship on the ocean floor near Boon Island.

Opponents of a wind farm project approved last month by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection are appealing that final order. Through attorney Rufus Brown of Portland, Concerned Citizens to Save Roxbury, 37 individual camp or property owners, and the Silver Lake Camp Owners Association filed the appeal on Monday. Roxbury Pond is also called Silver Lake.

Residents from all over southern and Mid-coast Maine turned out Tuesday night to hear details on the state's plan to open between one and five offshore sites for deepwater wind turbine testing. ...Residents who filled the audience Tuesday night, however, offered mixed reviews of the idea. Many lauded the state's initiative in aggressively exploring renewable energy possibilities, while others worried the test turbines could disrupt views of the Atlantic Ocean and intrude on the territory of commercial fishermen.

A well-attended, one-hour informational meeting on wind turbines Thursday night was followed by a public hearing and a Planning Board meeting on the subject. Resident Jim Parker said he agreed that the wind turbines would increase the town's tax base and reduce taxes. However, he pointed out that in a few years the state would reduce the Revenue Sharing funds to the town because of the higher tax base.

A town committee will release recommendations for a proposed $120 million wind-to-energy facility on Oakfield Hills that, if implemented, will make the town a standard-bearer among communities with wind sites, the town manager said Tuesday. The Oakfield Wind Farm Review Committee has worked since mid-June reviewing the mammoth application submitted by First Wind of Massachusetts.

Plans for a wind farm atop Colonel Holman Mountain drew a handful of opponents to to the selectmen's meeting Monday night. Following a sometimes contentious discussion with residents who oppose such development, the board set a special workshop for 5 p.m. Sept. 9 to begin discussing the procedure for the development of an ordinance to regulate wind farms in town.

By a margin of more than nine to one, residents voted at a special town meeting Thursday, Aug. 20, not to hire consultants who would have pursued grants and other funding sources for a community wind project. A total of 82 residents filled the gym at the Edna Drinkwater School Thursday evening to vote on whether or not to appropriate $50,000 from the town's fund balance to secure the services of Ra Power Solutions to help the town with the wind project.