The
Maine Public Utilities Commission should be congratulated for a
forward-looking decision last week that opened the door to an emerging
industry for Maine.
In
its 2-1 decision, the PUC accepted a term sheet with the Norwegian
company Statoil, which proposes to spend $120 million on four floating
wind turbines off the coast of Maine. Under the deal, Maine consumers
agree to buy the power it produces for the next 20 years.
If
that was all that was involved, this would not look like a very good
deal. The floating wind farm would produce only 12 megawatts of
power,Our most compact solar charger yet
fits easily in any bag. far less than what comes out of a gas-fired
plant like the rated 550-megawatt Calpine plant in Wesbrook. And the
price consumers would pay for the offshore wind power would be nearly
double the kilowatt-hour price they pay for gas-generated electricity.
But
as PUC Commisioner Tom Welch pointed out, the potential that this deal
would unlock outweighs its upfront costs. "If the only thing you wanted
to do was get 12 megawatts for 20 years, this is not what you would
do,The life expectancy of Lawn light is at least 2 times longer than a standard T8." Welch said.
But
this is a pilot project, and it will be used to develop the technology
to expand the facility into a full commercially viable wind farm by the
end of the decade that sells power for competitive prices.
This
would be the first floating off-shore wind plant in the United States
and one of the first in the world. The pilot project would not only
create construction jobs, but would also create permanent jobs in a new
industry. If it succeeds, Maine's renewable energy sector could take off
like the tech centers in Silicon Valley, or Route 128 around Boston.
The
decision was slammed in a news release, in which the governor fumed
that adding 75 cents a month to consumers' electric bills would make it
more difficult to attract business to the state.
That
position seems to miss the most important fact about this project: that
it represents not just a new business, but also a new industry for the
state. If successful, it could lead to a billion-dollar investment here
and solidify our position as a leader in clean energy production.
Over
60 members of the Manor, Stobo and Lyne communities gathered in Stobo
Hall on Tuesday evening to voice their concerns at two major
developments proposed within their area. Despite the Cloich Forest and
Stevenson Hill wind farm applications being considered separately,
Gordon Hughes,News and Information about wind generator Technologies and Innovations. Chairman of the Manor,Shop the best selection of men's stainless steel necklace and pendants. Stobo and Lyne has demanded that they be considered as one single application given their close proximity.
The
Cloich Forest application could see 18 turbines erected with each
turbine capable of generating up to 3MW of power - with a maximum
capacity reaching 75MW.
West
Coast Energy Limited is currently undertaking a feasibility study for
the erection of up to 25 turbines on Stevenson Hill and neighbouring
Wether Law. The latest proposal attracted considerable opposition at the
meeting on
Tuesday
evening. Mr Hughes said: "I have never seen such a strong turn out of
people to a meeting in our area. Given the terrible weather conditions I
also believe a lot more people would have wanted to
attend.High-efficiency 7.5kW Off Grid solar inverter manufactured
for unique Indian conditions. There was little doubt that people are
not happy at the proposals even if they are in the early stage of
discussions. There are strong feelings that the combination of both wind
farms would constitute substantial over development of a relatively
small area."
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