1Sky, allies walk fine line on clean energy

A press conference about wind power, scheduled for 10 a.m. at the State House, underscores some of the disagreements over what represents clean energy in Maine.

The Citizens’ Task Force on Wind Power will hold a press conference to make a "major announcement" concerning Gov. John Baldacci’s policy to mandate the deployment of more than 1,500, 400-foot tall industrial wind turbines throughout the state, but don't expect an outpouring of support for wind power.

Instead, task force members will be joined by turbine noise victims, an industrial noise expert, an attorney who works with "wind law" and other interested parties, according to the group's press release.

The press conference, called amid "growing concerns about health and environmental impacts of wind turbines," comes a day after a coalition of clean-energy advocates held its own press conference in Portland to defend federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions and to promote clean energy.

Greg Brown, the Maine organizer for the 1Sky organization, a national effort to enact comprehensive climate change legislation, acknowledged that wind power is not an end-all, be-all of clean energy.

"I agree personally with more study, I've followed closely what's gone up at Mars Hill. We weigh the pros and cons, and if we situate them in the appropriate areas they'll be a great boon to the economy," Brown said.

New England's second largest Wind Farm on the summit of Mars Hill Mountain, Maine, is an $85 million project by UPC Wind Management featuring 28 wind turbines, each one 389 feet tall and with three blades. The wind farm, when operating at full capacity, generates approximately 42 megawatts of power, enough to power 45,000 average Maine homes, according to the operators of the system.

But criticism of wind power lingers. The press conference, according to the task force, "will come just days after an official with the Maine Wind Industry Initiative said support for wind energy in Maine is dropping, and that the outlook for wind in Maine may now be 'dire.'”

Brown said wind power is a clean energy option for 1Sky but that various constituents need to reach an understanding.

"It's an emerging technology as far as we're concerned," he said.

Another "clean" energy option that sparks disagreement is nuclear power. When President Barack Obama announced $8.3 billion in loan guarantees Tuesday to build the first U.S. nuclear power plant in nearly three decades, the move was widely viewed as a political tactic to advance climate legislation in Congress, at least that was the opinion of Maine Rep. Alex Cornell du Houx, D-Brunswick, who spoke at Thursday's press conference in Portland.

"For Maine, we have the equivalent of 40 nuclear power plants worth of wind energy off the coast and we have a tremendous weatherization program under way. These are jobs that can't be exported overseas, but we can't invest in them beyond the resources to initially get them off the ground until we have some kind of climate change legislation," du Houx said in an interview.

Regarding the president's support of nuclear power, du Houx said, "It's part of his comprehensive bill to bring as much support as possible to the legislation. He said there can be some nuclear power plants as long as there's climate change legislation put through Congress."

Asked how to balance the pros and cons of wind power, du Houx said, "Like any new technology, there are challenges that will be addressed and will be overcome."

"We have the unique ability to accomplish these goals without nuclear power, which I'm very happy with," he said.

 Brown said he had no comment on nuclear power.

"What we're really looking for with our movement is clean jobs and clean energy. Now that may in fact supersede nuclear power, but what we're looking at is wind and tidal, solar and photovoltaic, genuinely clean energy and clean energy jobs," he said.