This afternoon, the regulation commission is expected to weigh the preliminary plan by TransCanada Maine Wind Development Inc., and Plum Creek Maine Timberlands LLC to rezone 2,367 acres for a 44-turbine project in Kibby and Skinner townships. Both wind projects are in western Maine's Franklin County.
Together, they would provide 186 megawatts of power - four times the output of Maine's first major wind farm. Evergreen Wind Power LLC's 42-megawatt Mars Hill project in northern Maine began cranking out power a year ago.
TransCanada says its project would churn out the electricity needs for more than 50,000 average Maine homes - or all of the households in Franklin, Oxford, and Somerset counties. Maine Mountain's output would provide enough power for at least 20,000 homes.
TransCanada's project manager Nick Di Domenico said the company feels confident going into today's session. The Calgary, Alberta-based outfit has worked hard to address concerns of all groups involved with the project and believes it would contribute to the state's policy of reducing reliance on fossil fuels in favor of renewable energy, he said.
Other benefits include hundreds of jobs for construction, significant tax revenues to the town of Stratton, and an economic development boost to a region of the state that has lost jobs in the logging and wood products industries, supporters say.
If and when a new, clean source of energy can be harnessed in the future, the windmills can be taken down, so they present no permanent intrusion on the land, said Dennis Bailey, a Maine Mountain spokesman. Like Di Domenico, Bailey said he hopes the LURC board votes on the wind projects today.
Maine Mountain, a joint venture of Endless Energy Co. in Yarmouth and Edison Mission Group of California, says its Black Nubble project presents a much-improved alternative to an earlier, 30-turbine project that would have also included towers on Redington Mountain.
A year ago, the regulation commission rejected that project as too intrusive on sensitive environmental areas and unsightly from the Appalachian Trail.
Because of the strong public reaction the Maine Mountain project generated previously, the regulation commission board decided to take the unusual step of holding a deliberative session on both windmill proposals, said agency director Catherine Carroll.
Because the record was closed following last fall's hearings on the projects, no public testimony or comment will be accepted today, when the commissioners will essentially discuss proposals. While Carroll said no vote is expected at the public session, a date could be set for a final decision.
Other state agencies overseeing wildlife, the environment, and other issues have been working with the applicants on their proposals, so they won't conduct separate reviews. However, separate permits may be needed from the US Army Corps of Engineers.
