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Windpower in New England: Timeline January 2005 to January 2010
1/27/05 Maine Public Utilities Commission, Report on the viability of wind power development. 4/7/05 Governor John Baldacci today announced the nomination of his Chief Legal Counsel, Kurt Adams, to serve as a member of the PUC (Maine Public Utilities Commission) 5/8/07 Executive Order 31 FY 06/07 Establishes the Governor's Task Force on Wind Power Development in Maine. Identifies 'barriers to wind power development.development'. 9/10/07 Kurt Adams, head of the Maine PUC, at a meeting about how to build 2000 MW of wind power in Maine presents "Wind in the Context of Regional Markets". 5/1/08 Kurt Adams resigned as chairman of the state’s Public Utilities Commission. Adams will join First Wind, formerly UPC Wind, a national wind development company, as senior VP for transmission development. 7/15/08 NY Attorney General Cuomo launches investigation into wind power companies' conduct across upstate New York. Subpoenas Served on First Wind/UPC Wind and Noble Environmental Power, LLC 10/30/08 NY Attorney General Cuomo establishes Code of Conduct for wind energy companies operating in New York. Noble Environmental Power and First Wind first to sign Wind Industry Ethics Code 11/ 7/08. Maine Governor Baldacci signed Executive Order 20 FY 08/09 (pdf), establishing the Ocean Energy Task Force The State Planning Office's Special Projects Office implemented. the order and set up the Task Force meetings. 6/2/09. LD 1465 An Act To Facilitate Testing and Demonstration of Renewabl Ocean Energy Technology is passed by the Maine Legislature and signed June 4th by Governor Baldacci. It becomes 38 MRSA 480HH in state law. 9/11/09 US Rep Erica Massa (D-NY) sends letter to President Obama asking that First Wind stimulus gift be revoked and that GAO investigation be launched. Excerpts include "...deceptively operate on behalf of First Wind which is currently under investigation by NYS Attorney General Andrew Cuomo for corruption charges across the northeast. ...business model of lie, cheat and corrupt at the expense of taxpayers..." 10/16/09. U.S. Department of Energy awarded an $8 million grant to Dr. Habib Dagher and his team at the University of Maine. The team includes more than 30 partners from outside of academia, including private companies interested in offshore wind development. Dagher testifies before Congress ttat Maine has the potential to produce about 130 gigawatts of power in deep water — 60 to 900 meters deep — within 50 nautical miles of the coast. 12/3/09 It becomes extremely evident at the PUC public hearing in Gorham regarding the $1.5 Billion CMP transmission upgrade request, that the primary reason for the upgrade is to ensure reliability for wind farms. Thus, the entire cost must be added to the already increased cost of high priced wind-produced electricity to gain and understanding of the true negative financial impacts of wind power in Maine. Click Here for the virtual case file . In case id block, type: 2008255 12/ 10/09. The Task Force delivered an 87 page Final Report (pdf) on strategies to: meet the goals established in the Maine Wind Energy Act, Title 35-A, section 3404(2)(B) : install at least 2,000 megawatts of wind capacity by 2015 and at least 3,000 megawatts by 2020, 300 of which could be located in coastal waters. 12/14/09 Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands chief Willard designates a two square mile site near Monhegan Island as 1 of 3 Offshore Wind Energy Test Areas in Maine state waters. The decision also declares the test area near Monhegan Island to be host of the Maine Offshore Wind Research Center, to be managed by the University of Maine 12/15/09. Maine State Planning office concurs on designating a 2 and 1/3 square mile area south of Monhegan as the Maine Offshore Wind Energy Reseach Center. 1/2/10/09 "Asked about his plans after leaving office next January, Baldacci said he plans to stay involved in energy issues, perhaps in an advisory capacity “It’s one [issue] that I am going to continue to be involved in. I feel very passionate about this,” he said. (BDN) 1/8/10. The University receives 12.4 million more in stimulus money for offshore wind development. University proposes to install one 100-kilowatt floating wind turbine and one 10-kilowatt floating wind turbine. A maximum of two offshore wind turbines is allowed at any given time in the wind energy test area 1/25/10 Ronald Huber files a Civil Action asking Maine Superior Court to reverse or suspend Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands' December 14, 2009 decision designating a site near Monhegan Island as 1 of 3 Offshore Wind Energy Test Areas in Maine state waters. The decision also declares the test area near Monhegan Island to be host of the Maine Offshore Wind Research Center, to be managed by the University of Maine. 2/5/10 Huber Responds to Intervenor request. 2 page pdf |