Alec Giffin, of Governor Baldacci's Task Force on Wind Power, is now speaking of his experience as a forester on that task force. He also alludes to the problems of old regulatory structures being applied to renewable energy development: he notes that Maine's Land Use Regulation Commission, which has presided over most of Maine's wind-power siting debates so far, created its zoning regulations decades before wind power existed.
Several problems: Existing regulations require all wind power projects (which typically go on top of mountain ridges) must "fit harmoniously with the natural environment."
If in the jurisdiction of the Land Use Regulation Commission, the planning board for Maine's unincorporated forestlands, the development district has to be "equally protective" of resources as conservation areas.
These regulations introduced tremendous unpredictability and uncertainty to wind power developers seeking permits. The task force, convened to make Maine a leader in wind power development, sought to update the state's regulations to allow for expedited permitting.
Read the Task Force's report here:
http://maine.gov/doc/mfs/windpower/report.shtml
The Legislature passed an implementation policy for the task force's recommendations almost unanimously this past winter.
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If it is left to LURC to decide what locations are "harmonious with nature" anywhere will do. I hope a court will find that this is an inadequate and vague definition. We camped under (literally) the beautiful wings of the PEI turbines and found they fit on this georgeous head of land far better than the intrusive tourist center. I'm a tree hugger, AT hiker and bird watcher -- birds learn, probably better than humans. Wind or wood, oil or nuclear? I'll take wind, thank you.
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