Another reminder to all of us that there is no such thing as "CLEAN GREEN ENERGY"..............Giant Windmill, Solar and Hydropower Transmission Lines that rip up existing unspoiled open space require miles of trenched pipelines and/or "Strung-Together-Gargantuan-Towers" to deliver the energy to the folks.............. "A Illinois Farmer noted that in installing Windmills on his land, roads were cut in using anywhere from 1000 feet to over a ½ mile of land to connect necessary locations"..........."The company installing the Windmills placed roads and trenches where they benefited the company most, not benefiting the integrity of the land"................The bottom line is that these type of energy projects are "green" only to the General Electric's of the world who build the Towers, Panels, Windmills and Pipelines---Certainly not "green" to the landscape and biodiversity.......... "As an example, solar farms hurt the desert, where at-risk species such as desert tortoises and bighorn sheep require large swaths of undeveloped, uninterrupted land to thrive"................"A newly published peer-reviewed study reports U.S. wind turbines kill 1.4 million birds and bats every year, even while producing just 3 percent of U.S. electricity".........."Given that most global warming alarmists also vigorously oppose hydropower, natural gas(Fracking) power and nuclear power, reducing emissions by 50 to 80 percent would require increasing the number of wind turbines roughly 25 fold"............."That means killing 350 million birds and bats in the United States every decade"...............Do not buy into the rants of Politicians that claim they are the "good guys" and that the other guys are "the bad guys" when it comes to the health of the environment...............Candidly, neither side is the friend of the environment, simply the friend of $$ in their pockets!!!

https://www.wsj.com/articles/in-need-of-electricity-massachusetts-looks-to-the-northagain-1530871579

In Need of Electricity, Massachusetts Looks to the North—Again

Some in Maine push back on plans to transmit hydropower from Quebec, after New Hampshire rejected the idea

Jon Kamp;  July 6, 2018

A Central Maine Power Co. substation. The utility hopes to build a transmission line that would bring Canadian hydropower to Massachusetts.PHOTO: DEREK DAVIS/PORTLAND PRESS HERALD/GETTY IMAGES

BOSTON—Massachusetts is again testing its northern neighbors’ willingness to help meet its growing need for electricity.

Central Maine Power Co. wants to build a $950 million, 145-mile transmission line deep in the Maine woods to import hydropower from Quebec. The project grabbed the spotlight earlier this year after a competing plan in New Hampshire ran into regulatory hurdles, and Massachusetts utilities looked east for another way to import Canadian power.

Now it is Maine’s turn to decide whether a slice of its forestland should be strung with wires to support another state’s energy supply. Thus far, the project is generating support in small towns eager for added tax revenue, but objections from some environmentalists and locals who question whether the impact is worthwhile.

PHOTO: ROBERT F. BUKATY/ASSOCIATED PRESSCentral Maine Power plans to stretch the transmission line from Canada across the Kennebec River, a concept that concerns some environmentalists and tourism businesses 

“I don’t care who’s paying for it, you’re coming through our towns, you need to make sure we’re getting something from it,” said Tom Saviello, a Republican state senator in the region who is also a member of the board of selectman in a town the line would briefly cross.

The project, which Central Maine Power hopes to finish by the end of 2022, needs state-level approvals in Maine, clearance from the federal government and Massachusetts regulatory approval for a 20-year deal to buy power from Quebec. Some Maine towns claim they have some zoning authority over it as well, but either way, believe their input will prove valuable as regulators review the plan.

Though Mr. Saviello opposes the line, he is pushing Central Maine Power, a unit of AvangridInc., to sweeten the perks, should the project go through. He would like the utility to help the region gain high-speed internet service and improve cellphone coverage to spur economic development.

The line would cut a 150-foot-wide path through about 50 miles of land long prized for its timber, and also for its recreational uses. It would then travel down an existing transmission corridor deep into the state and interconnect to the grid at a substation in Lewiston, Maine.

Central Maine Power has spent at least a year soliciting what it says is strong support from communities the project would affect. Some town officials along the corridor say they were swayed by the promise of $18 million in added annual tax revenue, which would be distributed among 38 communities.

That includes about $450,000 in new revenue for Jay, a town of about 4,600 people that is heavily reliant on taxes from a single paper mill to fund its budget, which totals about $6 million this year. “For our area, I definitely think it’s a good project,” Town Manager Shiloh LaFreniere said, regarding the line.

announced in mid-June they had successfully concluded contract negotiations.

The Maine project would be paid for by power customers in Massachusetts, which is trying to meet aggressive goals to get a growing amount of power from clean-energy sources. The transmission line promises a fresh test of whether the energy-constrained region can overcome a pattern of big projects succumbing to opposition.

Central Maine Power is trying to convince Mainers the power line won’t merely be a big extension cord draped across their land. The new line, which would terminate north of Portland, will supply New England, including Maine, with hydropower that could save the region about $3.9 billion in electricity costs over 20 years, the company has estimated.

As for sweetening the pot for towns, “we’re totally open minded to further discussions around these things,” said Thorn Dickinson, vice president of business development at Avangrid.

The Natural Resources Council of Maine and the Appalachian Mountain Club have objected to the project on several fronts, from potential impact on the landscape to worries about overstated environmental benefits from the hydropower project.

One sore spot is Central Maine Power’s plan to stretch wires across the Kennebec River, a popular white water rafting site. Staff at the state’s Department of Environmental Protection and Land Use Planning Commission have “serious concerns” about the potential impact of an overhead river crossing, according to a May letter to the company seeking more information.

“This section of river is widely recognized for its outstanding white water rafting and attracts thousands of visitors a year to the area, not only for the rafting experience, but also the natural beauty of the place,” the regulators said.

“I’m not really in favor of it unless they can bury it,” said Cliff Stevens, the owner of Moxie Outdoor Adventures, who has spent decades taking people rafting down the Kennebec River.

The company is willing to tunnel underground if required, but it would cost an estimated $37 million, and the overhead crossing was designed to span the river without visible towers, Mr. Dickinson said. The company said it also carefully plotted the entire route to sidestep sensitive features, such as vernal pools.

Central Maine Power and a newly formed Maine nonprofit called Western Mountains & Rivers Corp., which includes some local rafting operators, recently reached a memorandum of understanding that calls for the company to invest $22 million for measures like supporting economic development and tourism in the region.

Russell Walters, a member of the nonprofit and president of a local vacation resort and raft outfitter, said he was initially a skeptic. But he was swayed by the chance to help the region and his belief that power developments will come eventually.

“I felt like it was a fair compromise,” he said.

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http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-solar-bird-deaths-20160831-snap-story.html

 This Mojave Desert solar plant kills 6,000 birds a year. Here's why that won't change any time soon

https://www.desertsun.com/story/tech/science/energy/2015/10/19/study-california-solar-farms-threaten-desert-species/74233862/

Study: California solar farms threaten desert species

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamestaylor/2013/07/29/president-obamas-climate-plan-would-kill-hundreds-of-millions-of-birds-and-bats/

Obama's Climate Plan Would Kill Hundreds Of Millions Of Birds And Bats

https://www.masterresource.org/linowes-lisa/incompatibility-wind-crop-farming/

The Incompatibility of Wind and Crop ‘Farming’