October 26, 2012

Juliet T. Browne

Mars Hill 42 MW
Beaver Ridge 4.5 MW
Stetson I 57 MW
Kibby 132 MW
Fox Island Wind 4.5 MW
Stetson II 25.5 MW



Rollins 60 MW
Record Hill 50.6 MW
Spruce Mountain 20 MW
Bull Hill * 34.2 MW
* Expected to come on-line shortly
PERMITTED PROPOSED
Sisk 33 MW
Saddleback 33 MW
Oakfield 150 MW
Redington 90/54 MW
Highland 128.6 MW
Bowers 69.1 MW
Passadumkeag 42 MW
Canton 22 MW

DEP (organized areas of the State)
Decisions on wind energy developments made by
the Commissioner following public meetings, but
typically without adjudicatory hearings
Appeals can be brought to the BEP (citizen board)
and/or to the Maine Supreme Court

LURC (unorganized areas of the State)
Decisions made by a citizen board typically
following an adjudicatory hearing
Judicial appeals to the Maine Supreme Court

Sound and health impacts
Particularly in earlier projects
Focus of most early appeals
Led to citizen-initiated petition to adopt sound
standards specific to wind energy developments
Objective numeric standard

Visual impacts
Focus in more recent projects and basis for denial of
several projects
More subjective, qualitative standard
Technical modeling information
Personal testimony on the effects of living near a
wind farm
Technical data on impacts of sound from wind
developments
Policy arguments on the costs and benefits of
wind power and other energy sources
Peer-reviewed data and summaries of peer-
reviewed data
Non peer-reviewed studies/reports and
summaries of such studies/reports
Personal accounts
Monitoring data from operating projects in Maine
Series of public meetings
Town retained a sound expert
Applicant presented data
Information reviewed by the Town and its
expert in a public and open forum
Result was broad acceptance and comfort
with sound issues
Submission of substantial expert information by
opponents, proponents, acoustical and health
experts
Testimony by persons living near wind farms
Public hearing and presentation by experts and
individuals
Retention of an acoustical expert
Monitoring results from existing Maine projects
Result was a wind energy specific sound
standard

Who is the audience
Legitimacy of methodology
Credibility of advocacy based information
Benefit of process in which experts for
proponents and opponents present data
Need for independent experts to advise an
agency on contested technical issues
Representativeness of the data is critical
What does the information tell us about what will occur
elsewhere







Challenges associated with an inherently more
qualitative standard
How does the standard effect the type of
information that is relevant and credible
property values
recreational use
tourism