Wind power picks up steam, and support
Maine Mountain Power is expected to file its new plan Tuesday for a wind farm on Black Nubble Mountain near the Sugarloaf USA ski resort.
And, in turn, the Natural Resources Council of Maine and other advocacy groups are planning to announce their support for the project at a news conference in Portland Tuesday morning.
The Black Nubble wind farm is the scaled-down version of a plan that was effectively rejected by the Maine Land Use Regulation Commission because of impacts on sub-alpine wildlife habitat and views from the Appalachian Trail. The company resuscitated the plan by eliminating 16 turbines on the Redington Pond Range, and sticking with 18 turbines on Black Nubble.
The change, which includes a conservation agreement for Redington, has won over many of the plan’s critics. NRCM had even suggested the scaled-down Black Nubble plan early on, but the company said then that building only 18 turbines would be a money-losing proposition. The numbers look better now.
Two other wind farms are already pending before the commission. Commissioners will hold a public hearing Aug. 7 in Lee on a plan for 38 turbines on Stetson Ridge in northern Washington County. A hearing is expected in October on another plan for 44 turbines on Kibby Mountain in northern Franklin County.
For more in formation on the proposals, and to keep track, watch the LURC Website.
