Identifying those of us in the audience who were not First Wind employees, attorneys, lobbyists, contractors or consultants, First Wind's attorney complained "these people" are running all around the state opposing wind projects.

General Maine

In defending their quest to erect wind turbines in scenic places, First Wind writes: "Fishermen can orient their boats away from the turbines or situate themselves in one of the many coves if views of the turbines become undesirable. Or they may recreate at other nearby lakes with fewer views of turbines, if preferred." Are they serious? Can you think of a more grating arrogance?

General Maine

A wind energy company is interested in building four wind turbines on a Bailey Hill Road farm in Farmington and plans to make a presentation to town officials at a meeting Monday night.

General Maine

"If you look at the amount of dollars that are being subsidized on wind power compared to things like energy efficiency and conservation, it's more like a silver cannonball." "If that kind of money were directed at energy efficiency and conservation, it's about $10,000 for every household in the state of Maine," Thurston said.

General Maine

Town planners Wednesday night approved a $25 million five-turbine wind farm for Pisgah Mountain - that will be visible from Bangor once complete - and afterward the developer said the plan is to get shovels in the ground this year.

General Maine

Among the state regulator-approved options, customers who want to keep old meters have to pay $40 up front and $12 a month to cover the cost of maintaining the systems. "Bath did a moratorium that said we're going to still evaluate this stuff and you have to get permission from the homeowner," Saviello said Friday.

General Maine

The Land Use Regulation Commission voted 6-0, with one absentee, to approve the $78 million energy project. ...Blue Sky East LLC of Portland, an affiliate of Massachusetts-based First Wind, proposed building 19 windmills on Bull Hill and Heifer Hill near Eastbrook in central Hancock County.

General Maine

The proposal before LURC calls for towers on Bull Hill and Heifer Hill near Eastbrook in central Hancock County. The turbines would be built on 312-foot towers. With the blades fully extended, the total height would be 476 feet. A new substation at the site would convert the power to 115 kilovolts and send it directly to Bangor Hydro Electric Co.'s transmission line.

General Maine

"Landscape has a high value over there," Trapasso said. But with decades of wind development onshore, the public eventually started turning against turbines, complaining that the aesthetic costs were too high. ...installing new turbines is difficult or impossible in many parts of Europe because the public has turned against them, Trapasso said. The solution: out of sight, out of mind.

General Europe Maine

Eolian has yet to produce a single watt of electricity anywhere. They admit to "not having done a good enough job" of clearly presenting their project to the town. Two of their mailings "overlooked" dozens of residents who live around Mt. Waldo and would be most affected by these massive 450-foot turbines. Heck, they can't even get the name of the local store right.

General Maine

Sometime between the call-in show and the fair, First Wind dropped off the list of exhibitors on the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association's website, but there were other glitches in the details of the sprawling program, so it seemed plausible that First Wind representatives would still be there. Several phone calls to First Wind and a missed call from the company later, and the question remained unanswered in advance of the fair's opening day.

General Maine

Fuller and other Pisgah Mountain LLC partners want to put up five Vestas V90-1.8 MW wind turbines. Each will be approximately 455 feet at the top of the propeller blade. Other residents at Thursday's public hearing voiced concerns about harm to wildlife, blade glint and if there is enough money set aside to pay for decommissioning.

General Maine

"What makes the sight of wind turbines on Maine mountains ugly is the economics," Chris O'Neil said Thursday. O'Neil is president of Friends of Maine Mountains, a group formed to oppose mountainside wind energy development in western Maine. "Maine is being used for an inefficient energy source that doesn't even benefit the state," O'Neil said.

General Maine

The towers would be installed on land owned by Aroostook Timberlands, which is a subsidiary of Irving Woodlands LLC. According to MacLean, First Wind has memoranda of agreement with Irving for the new test sites.

General Maine

I was disturbed, but not surprised, to read Rep. Stacey Fitts' letter in the Sept. 14 edition of The Times Record. Mr. Fitts wrote, "Wind power has been a real boost to Maine's economy: $1 billion of investment..."

General Maine

They decided to await a decision by the Maine Board of Environmental Protection that may come from the Augusta board's meeting on Thursday, Sept. 15. That came after Selectman Jeff Sterling read a letter from Rumford businessman Roger Arsenault, who said the state BEP is considering setting stricter standards.

General Maine

Two dozen residents Tuesday night heard a state official explain the implications for taxpayers of the wind-power project proposed by Clear Sky Energy LLC. Mike Rogers of Maine Revenue Services gave an overview of what a sudden increase in town valuations would mean to the town and taxpayers.

General Maine

People at the protest opposed the turbines' environmental impact on remote areas of Maine. Several wind power projects are proposed for areas of Somerset County. "They just don't belong on the mountaintops," said one activist, 72-year-old Dick Roberts, of Dixfield. Wearing a green felt hat with a feather in it, he said he has enjoyed hiking portions of the Appalachian Trail throughout his life.

General Maine

Selectmen are considering limiting the number of turbines that wind developers can place in town - in projects well into the future. Selectman Jeremy Volkernick broached that issue during a discussion Thursday night on whether to reinstate a few pages of language requiring developers to have operational licenses.

General Maine

"They are doing an awful lot of damage to our quality of life, our mountains. I don't think it's going to lower the cost of energy. I think in 10 years we're going to be like Sweden and Denmark and we're going to be swearing at ourselves."

General Maine