Category Archives: Energy

Extolling the benefits of heating with pellets | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

Extolling the benefits of heating with pellets | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram.

Offshore wind grant could reach UMaine | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

Offshore wind grant could reach UMaine | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram.

Central Maine Power customers to pay more | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

Central Maine Power customers to pay more | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram.

Feds earmark $20M for deepwater wind power research | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

Feds earmark $20M for deepwater wind power research | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram.

Mainers in thick of vital task: removing oil | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

Mainers in thick of vital task: removing oil | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram.

Power-line plan upsets residents | The Kennebec Journal, Augusta, ME

Power-line plan upsets residents | The Kennebec Journal, Augusta, ME.

Mainers go to Gulf with helpful tools, run into obstacles | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

Mainers go to Gulf with helpful tools, run into obstacles | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram.

Utility chairman confirms $1.4 billion upgrade for Maine grid | Bangor Daily News

Utility chairman confirms $1.4 billion upgrade for Maine grid – Bangor Daily News.

Efficiency Maine offering $1,000 incentive | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

Efficiency Maine offering $1,000 incentive | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram.

Tilting at windmills

Windmill farm near Mars Hill, Maine. Photo by Kelly McInnis.

Past readers know that I very much like the use of alternative energy – solar, wind, wave.

Wind energy – from both onshore and offshore wind farms – has received a big push in Maine the past couple of years. There is plenty of wind to go around in Maine, especially along the coast, and harnessing that wind will greatly ease this nation’s addiction to foreign petroleum.

But some communities in Maine are concerned with issues associated with wind farms, namely the noise the huge turbines cause. And I’m sure more than a few Mainers are upset with the interruption in viewscape.

Here in California, wind farms have become part of the landscape mostly because of the clean energy they provide.

It is my hope that power companies and government officials will find a way to mitigate the problems so that wind farms can provide clean, sustainable energy for a very long time to come.

Here are a couple of photos Kelly McInnis shot last week at the wind farm near Mars Hill, Maine. They are published here with her permission.

Windmill farm near Mars Hill, Maine. Photo by Kelly McInnis.

Mainers head south to Gulf as oil continues to flow | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

Mainers head south to Gulf as oil continues to flow | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram.

Carthage wind farm proposal stirs debate | Lewiston Sun Journal

Carthage wind farm proposal stirs debate | Lewiston Sun Journal

Land deal catches some by surprise | The Kennebec Journal, Augusta, ME

Land deal catches some by surprise | The Kennebec Journal, Augusta, ME.

Westbrook schools recognized for energy efficiency | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

Westbrook schools recognized for energy efficiency. | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram.

Dine Out for the Gulf Coast

From June 10-12, 2010, participating restaurants throughout the United States will set aside a portion of profits to help those directly affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and to support the long-term restoration of the treasured coast.

Click here to learn more.

Wind News Roundup | SustainableBusiness.com

Wind News Roundup | SustainableBusiness.com

State point man on offshore wind clearly energized | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

State point man on offshore wind clearly energized | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram.

Snowe praises Coast Guard’s preparations for spill in Maine | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

Snowe praises Coast Guard’s preparations for spill in Maine | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram.

Solution for Gulf of Mexico oil spill

We should plug the oil spill with BP executives. It might not actually stop the spill, but it sure would be some justice.

Bond targets wind project, energy upgrades | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

Bond targets wind project, energy upgrades | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

Will birds and wind farms compete? | Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram