Coastal Green Energy in the News
Islanders
consider wind
power projects
State creates task
force and fund
to support industry
by Faith DeAmbrose
DEER ISLE—Local residents may soon have the option of purchasing
renewable energy that is produced on the Island, thanks to two potential
projects aimed at harnessing wind power and selling it back to the grid.
The most recent project to be announced comes from the private Deer
Isle-based company Coastal Green Energy. Its project could be up and
running within a year and a half, if initial tests support it. Currently, land
is being cleared in the Fish Creek area for the placement of an
anemometer, a device measuring wind speed and direction, to determine
if there is enough wind to warrant moving forward with a project expected
to cost in the neighborhood of $10 million. The wind readings will also be
used to determine the type and number of turbines to be used and their
placement for optimal return.
Last October, a Portland-based company called Competitive Energy
Services placed an anemometer on the 78-acre Reach Road property of
Bill and Anita Haviland where data will be collected for one year to
determine feasibility.
Of the 50 U.S. states, Maine is listed 19th in terms of wind potential.
There is one up-and-running wind farm located in Mars Hill and there are
more than half a dozen proposed projects throughout the state. The 42-
megawatt Mars Hill wind farm, at full capacity, has the potential to power
45,000 homes with 28 turbines. The economic benefit to Mars Hill is
approximately $10 million over the next 20 years. According to a report
given by Mars Hill’s town manager to a group of sightseers in May, the
additional income from the wind farm has decreased the overall tax
burden by 20 percent.
In the United States the majority of the nation’s electricity comes from
three sources—coal, 50 percent, natural gas, 19 percent, and nuclear
generation, 20 percent. Renewable resources accounted for 2.3 percent
of total electricity production in 2005.
Electricity from non-renewable sources emits a number of by-products
into the environment, including nitric oxide and sulfur dioxide, the
chemicals responsible for acid rain, as well as carbon dioxide, or the
greenhouse gas, thought to be linked to global warming. According to
Maine Interfaith Power and Light, a supplier of green energy, just one
wind watt offsets 1/2 ton of carbon dioxide annually.
In Maine, a number of programs are being developed to encourage
investment in renewable energies, especially wind power. During the
month of May, Governor John Baldacci announced the creation of a
Wind Power Task Force to oversee the development of projects
throughout the state. “Maine must be aggressive in pursuing alternative
sources of energy,” said the governor in a press release regarding the
task force. “We know that climate change is real. We know that people
are contributing to the problem. And we know that wind power is a good
source of clean renewable energy.”
In addition, the Public Utilities Commission also announced in May the
creation of the Voluntary Renewable Resources Fund aimed at providing
up to $50,000 of seed money “for qualifying non-profits for the
development of projects utilizing renewable resources like wind, water,
sun, wood, tides, trash-to-energy, fuel cell and geothermal energy.”
The option to purchase power made from renewable sources is,
however, already available. When Maine restructured its laws governing
the electric industry in 2004, consumers were given the authority to
choose where their supply comes from. Consumers who do not choose a
supplier are given a “standard offer” by the company that provides the
distribution, such as Bangor Hydro. For comparison, the current rate for
one kilowatt hour from Central Maine Power is 8.8 cents, from Bangor
Hydro, 8.4 cents, and renewable energy purchased from Maine Interfaith
Power and Light is 8.5 cents.
For more information about renewable energy options, visit the Maine
Public Utilities Commission Web site at Maine.gov. Additional information
can also be obtained from the Web sites of the Natural Resources
Council of Maine, Maine Interfaith Power and Light and the American
Wind Energy Association.
consider wind
power projects
State creates task
force and fund
to support industry
by Faith DeAmbrose
DEER ISLE—Local residents may soon have the option of purchasing
renewable energy that is produced on the Island, thanks to two potential
projects aimed at harnessing wind power and selling it back to the grid.
The most recent project to be announced comes from the private Deer
Isle-based company Coastal Green Energy. Its project could be up and
running within a year and a half, if initial tests support it. Currently, land
is being cleared in the Fish Creek area for the placement of an
anemometer, a device measuring wind speed and direction, to determine
if there is enough wind to warrant moving forward with a project expected
to cost in the neighborhood of $10 million. The wind readings will also be
used to determine the type and number of turbines to be used and their
placement for optimal return.
Last October, a Portland-based company called Competitive Energy
Services placed an anemometer on the 78-acre Reach Road property of
Bill and Anita Haviland where data will be collected for one year to
determine feasibility.
Of the 50 U.S. states, Maine is listed 19th in terms of wind potential.
There is one up-and-running wind farm located in Mars Hill and there are
more than half a dozen proposed projects throughout the state. The 42-
megawatt Mars Hill wind farm, at full capacity, has the potential to power
45,000 homes with 28 turbines. The economic benefit to Mars Hill is
approximately $10 million over the next 20 years. According to a report
given by Mars Hill’s town manager to a group of sightseers in May, the
additional income from the wind farm has decreased the overall tax
burden by 20 percent.
In the United States the majority of the nation’s electricity comes from
three sources—coal, 50 percent, natural gas, 19 percent, and nuclear
generation, 20 percent. Renewable resources accounted for 2.3 percent
of total electricity production in 2005.
Electricity from non-renewable sources emits a number of by-products
into the environment, including nitric oxide and sulfur dioxide, the
chemicals responsible for acid rain, as well as carbon dioxide, or the
greenhouse gas, thought to be linked to global warming. According to
Maine Interfaith Power and Light, a supplier of green energy, just one
wind watt offsets 1/2 ton of carbon dioxide annually.
In Maine, a number of programs are being developed to encourage
investment in renewable energies, especially wind power. During the
month of May, Governor John Baldacci announced the creation of a
Wind Power Task Force to oversee the development of projects
throughout the state. “Maine must be aggressive in pursuing alternative
sources of energy,” said the governor in a press release regarding the
task force. “We know that climate change is real. We know that people
are contributing to the problem. And we know that wind power is a good
source of clean renewable energy.”
In addition, the Public Utilities Commission also announced in May the
creation of the Voluntary Renewable Resources Fund aimed at providing
up to $50,000 of seed money “for qualifying non-profits for the
development of projects utilizing renewable resources like wind, water,
sun, wood, tides, trash-to-energy, fuel cell and geothermal energy.”
The option to purchase power made from renewable sources is,
however, already available. When Maine restructured its laws governing
the electric industry in 2004, consumers were given the authority to
choose where their supply comes from. Consumers who do not choose a
supplier are given a “standard offer” by the company that provides the
distribution, such as Bangor Hydro. For comparison, the current rate for
one kilowatt hour from Central Maine Power is 8.8 cents, from Bangor
Hydro, 8.4 cents, and renewable energy purchased from Maine Interfaith
Power and Light is 8.5 cents.
For more information about renewable energy options, visit the Maine
Public Utilities Commission Web site at Maine.gov. Additional information
can also be obtained from the Web sites of the Natural Resources
Council of Maine, Maine Interfaith Power and Light and the American
Wind Energy Association.
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