Mars Hill project, this one took twice as long and many multiples of the cost to permit. Projects take on a life of their own during the regulatory process, and as the review process gets longer, it costs more money, and it becomes very difficult to predict the outcome. That’s the thing that we think needs to be addressed, both on the regulatory front but also in terms of political leadership.”
Construction on Stetson Mountain began immediately after the commissioners’ vote last week, Kearns says. “We’re spending roughly $8 million between now and the end of March to clear the site, do some excavation work, and deliver equipment, so we’re really underway,” Kearns says. “We hope to be producing power by the summer—which is one of the great things about wind. Once you get a project approved, it doesn’t take years to build it.”
While the Stetson Mountain project was a long haul, UPC’s travails have been minor compared to those experienced by competitor Maine Mountain Power, which wants to build a similarly-sized wind farm on the opposite end of the state. Last January the land commission voted to deny a permit for a 30-turbine project the company had proposed for the Redington Pond Range and Black Nubble Mountains in the state’s mountainous western section. Opponents, including Maine Audubon, cited the threat to rare species and migrating birds, as well as the project’s location deep in the heart of one of the state’s wildest regions.
Over the summer, however, Maine Mountain Power persuaded the commission to reopen its deliberations based on a new proposal for a scaled-down wind farm on Black Nubble Mountain only. A range of organizations have endorsed the new proposal, which is still pending.
In response to industry concerns, Maine governor John Baldacci has created a state task force on wind power that’s charged with identifying barriers to wind power development in Maine and proposing policy changes to promote the industry and help developers find the most appropriate wind-farm sites. The task force has met eight times since last July and is currently considering a proposal to divide the state into so-called “green” zones, where wind power development is encouraged, and “red” and “amber” zones where development may be considered problematic.
A zone system might save precious time for wind-power companies looking to do business in Maine by steering them away from areas like the Redington Pond Range where development plans would likely meet fatal opposition. But it’s not clear that the rest of New England will follow Maine’s lead in streamlining the review process. The high-profile, 130-turbine Cape Wind project proposed by entrepreneur Jim Gordon for Massachusetts’ Nantucket Sound, for example, seems hopelessly snarled amidst local political opposition. Despite widespread public support for the project in the Bay State, the Cape Cod Commission, charged with protecting the area’s natural resources, denied Gordon a key permit in October.
