1. Sociology of Maine Wind Farms
Jeanne Barthold
2015
Is the Wind Farm economy changing the character of Maine permanently?
Bull Hill Wind Farm
PROBLEMS WITH NOISE
THE HABITATS AND BEAUTY OF MAINE
The Bicknell Thrush spends its summers in the habitat on Sisk mountain, near the Kibby Wind Farm. While the Thrush is not an endangered species, it is listed on the Audubon watch list and is known for its restricted breeding ranges.
Inner construct of the ear. Infrasound waves produce vibrations that are intercepted by the ear and sent to the brain where they are interpreted as sound. Recent studies have shown that infrasound waves increase anxiety, generate stress, and cause sleep deprivation, leading to adverse health effects for people living within 2.2 miles of wind turbines.
First Wind Aerial Shot
The golden eagle is protected by the Federal Bald and Golden Eagle Act. New information on golden eagle migration patterns show they may be the species most at risk to wind power in New England.
The Bull Hill 19-turbine wind farm dodges many of the typical complaints of large scale wind farms, yet produces 34 MW of power, enough to supply the needs of about 34,000 homes. First Wind, the company that built and owns the Bull Hill Wind Farm, did a lot of things right in the process of proposing and building the wind farm such as letting the community see the site and constructing the turbines far from homes.
Fox Island Wind Farm
Levels of audible sound and Infrasounds. The red raggedy lines represent the infrasound waves that are not accounted for in governmental regulations on sound
Maine is highly regarded for its untouched beauty by both Mainers and tourists. Wind farms alter this landscape permanently. While some find turbines beautiful, other say wind farms are destroying the natural beauty that makes Maine the peaceful, beautiful, unique state that it is.
ENERGY DECEPTION- Is it worth it?
NECESSARY IMPROVEMENTS
Fox Island Wind Farm is a small, 3-turbine farm on the island of Vinalhaven. It is locally owned by the Fox Island Electric Cooperative, but has faced many legal battles regarding sound ordinances since it began operation in The power output is not what people expected and the location near several homes posed many health issues regarding excessive noise.
Maine Wind Energy Act encourages speedy, and therefore careless, proposal and construction:
It "limit[s] the review period to 185 days for projects in the new expedited zone, which includes all organized communities and much of the fringe area of unorganized townships.”
Legislation must be passed to limit the distance from homes to wind turbines to a minimum of 2.2 miles.
Clear, honest communication between the wind industry and communities is essential for the future of communities and the renewable energy movement.
A longer, more well-defined process of approving wind farms is absolutely necessary in order to educate communities, let communities have a say, and build successful, sustainable relationships that allow both the wind industry and the community to thrive.
Kibby Wind Farm
Presentation Diagram by Ben Luce
(Left) Average wind speeds in the U.S., and (Center) ranking of states in order of their potential maximum wind resource. The eastern United States is not an incredibly effective place for wind farms in comparison to the Midwest. (Right) The relationship between wind speed and power production. With the social costs being so high, is it worth implementing wind farms on every ridgeline of Maine, when the effect we can have on total energy production is so small??
“If we developed 3,000 miles of ridgelines in New England (most of the total ridgeline mileage we have), we would only contribute about 3.3% of the electricity needed for America” –Ben Luce
Kibby Wind Farm is a 44-turbine farm located on Kibby Mountain in the Boundary Mountain Range near Eustis, Maine. Construction on the project began in 2007, and the turbines began to spin in The main concerns with Kibby are the habitat destruction and destruction of the mountain range’s beauty