Wind Energy and Middleboro

Ryan Adams did a nice job explaining progress on wind energy:

My, How the Winds are Changing...
Good news all around.
After years of study, Hull officials are now seeking approval of state environmental regulators to install four wind turbines, each about 430 feet high, in ocean waters about a mile and a half east of Nantasket Beach.Ian A. Bowles, the state secretary of energy and environmental affairs and a wind-power advocate, could approve the project as soon as Feb. 6 or order further environmental studies. There's almost no resistance to Hull's proposal because, guess what, wind turbines make complete sense. Hull will be the first town in Massachusetts to power their entire town by wind-powered renewable energy. Note Hull has a municipal electric company, something that has given Hull much more flexibility in deciding how it'll create it's electricity. Other towns with a municipal system have been aggressive in trying to create wind turbines, such as Rowley and Princeton, which is replacing their 1980s era wind turbines soon. I'm guessing these coincidences probably aren't really coincidences at all (never mind the fact that municipal electric companies tend to be much cheaper than buying private power). Anyone keeping score? Cape Wind passed its biggest hurdle, while towns like Hull and Princeton are showing true leadership in regards to renewable energy. Meanwhile, the state's second large wind farm, the Dartmouth/Mattapoisett project, will hopefully soon follow Cape Wind's suit. Maybe Massachusetts will meet its renewable energy goals after all. Lets hope all these green projects - and many more - are built as quick as humanly possible.

Consider sending an email in support of CapeWind through environmentmassachusetts.

You can subscribe to the site, as well as find invaluable information.

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Is it time for Middleboro to address the issue?

Cape Wind Reports and Middleboro is where?

Cape Wind reports on the MMS report and much else.

Coastal Wind energy holds the promise of allowing the Commonwealth to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels.

Certain locations clearly require public discussion about the environmental implications, but it seems to many that the Emperor is naked.

Those who pretend to be environmentalists in their opposition ALL appear to have other nimby agendas.

Isn't it time to recognize that Senator Kennedy, Rep. Kennedy, and Christy Mihos, inter alia, simply are the spoiled wealthy who don't want their view spoiled?

Isn't it time for the Commonwealth to lead New England?

Have you asked your Reps?

Isn't it time to wonder where Middleboro is?

A list of public hearings and public comment information below in EXTRA.

Cape Wind Takes Major Step Forward
Report Issued by Federal Minerals Management Service

BOSTON, MA -- Cape Wind passed a major milestone today at the start of its final year of permitting with the release of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) from the lead Federal permitting agency, the Minerals management Service (MMS) of the Department of Interior.


...In 2006 Vinick, a former vice president of the Cousteau Society, made $203,099 as president of the Alliance, according to the nonprofit group's tax records. Last year, Vinick handed off his role as chief executive officer to Glenn Wattley, an Osterville homeowner and former coal industry engineer and consultant... Note: Click here to read this article in the Cape Cod Times



Marketing the Ghost of Jacques Cousteau to his next highest bidder
Vinick camouflages his anti-environmentalism with green paint
Despite his best efforts and several millions of other peoples' dollars, departing Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound president and former CEO Charles Vinick has been unsuccessful in camouflaging his patrons' opposition to Cape Wind with green paint. CCT

Ryan Adams had this to say:

Hooray!
Cape Wind passed a major hurdle today.

For those who don't know, Cape Wind helped this blogger decide Ryan's Take should primarily be a state blog, not based on some other premise. It's important that Cape Wind be built, sooner rather than later. It's even more important that the rest of the state follow suit. Renewable Energy is here, today - affordable and ready to implement. We need to make sure this industry grows in Massachusetts and that this state becomes an international leader in confronting Global Warming. The climate tipping point quickly approaches, so it's good to know the Bay State is one step closer to making sure the Mass Bay won't be expanding any time soon.

Tailwind for Cape Wind
January 15, 2008
IN 2001, when Cape Wind first proposed its 130-turbine project for Nantucket Sound, oil cost $20 a barrel and natural gas cost $3 for a million cubic feet. Now oil is close to $100, and gas is $10. More important, scientists have estimated that global warming is happening at a quicker pace than they had believed seven years ago. All of this makes more timely than ever the green light that Cape Wind got yesterday from the US Interior Department's Minerals Management Service.

The longer the project faces opposition from the likes of Kennedy and Delahunt, the more their criticism appears motivated by not-in-my-backyard concerns. All forms of renewable energy still need support from Washington, and Massachusetts would be in a much stronger position to become a Silicon Valley of clean energy if all of its congressional delegation would rally around Cape Wind.

BostonGlobe

FOR COMMENTS & PUBLIC HEARINGS:

MMS publishes Cape Wind Energy ProjectDraft Environmental Impact Statement Public Hearings here in March, statements begin Friday
WASHINGTON – The Interior Department’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) filed the draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) for the Cape Wind Energy Project with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Friday, January 11th. The Boston Globe reported that the report was favorable on Cape Wind and it would have mostly “negligible” or “minor” impacts on wildlife, navigation and tourism, see story here. The Associated Press, Worcester Telegram and Providence Journal reported that it "would pose no major environmental problems."The initial readings indicates a far more comprehensive report than the DEIS by the United State Army Corps of Engineers three years ago, but basically as positive for the project.

EXTRA

Energy -- Solar and Wind

As the Massachusetts Energy Bill gets hashed out in committee, the final product will reveal if consumers win or whether the wealthy will prevail in protecting their pristine views, environment be damned!

Whose side are they really on?

Will Massachusetts compete with the rest of New England and support coastal wind development?

And what of solar?

Do you think Middleboro will ever notice?


A Solar Grand Plan
By 2050 solar power could end U.S. dependence on foreign oil and slash greenhouse gas emissions
By Ken Zweibel, James Mason and Vasilis Fthenakis

High prices for gasoline and home heating oil are here to stay. The U.S. is at war in the Middle East at least in part to protect its foreign oil interests. And as China, India and other nations rapidly increase their demand for fossil fuels, future fighting over energy looms large. In the meantime, power plants that burn coal, oil and natural gas, as well as vehicles everywhere, continue to pour millions of tons of pollutants and greenhouse gases into the atmosphere annually, threatening the planet. Scientific American

Regulators to debate two W. Maine wind-power projects
By Glenn Adams, Associated Press Writer January 13, 2008
AUGUSTA, Maine --With Maine's spot as New England's largest generator of wind power already well-established, state regulators on Monday will consider two more projects that would produce enough clean power to keep the lights glowing and toasters cooking in more 70,000 homes.

As of now, all of the remaining five New England states have a total of 13 megawatts of installed wind power, according to the American Wind Energy Association. Noteworthy among the region's proposed projects is the 468 megawatt Cape Winds project off Cape Cod in Massachusetts.
By comparison, New York has 390 megawatts of installed wind power, California 2,376 and Texas, the nation's leader, 3,953, according to AWEA. BostonGlobe

Not in Middleboro! #2

Brewster has an alternative energy committee? Impressive!
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Not in Middleboro!
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Brewster - Alternative energy for town hall may not be financially viable, but voters at the spring town meeting will still have a chance to weigh in on it.

Reporting to selectmen this week, John Cunningham of the alternative energy committee said most of the options the committee looked at for replacing town hall’s aging boiler had very long “payback” periods – the amount of time energy savings would make up for the initial cost...... CapeCodder

Not in Middleboro!

Middleboro Selectmen successfully delayed mailing real estate tax bills more than two months by their failure to act.

First there was the grab bag Special Town Meeting that spent most of the piggy bank on November 5, 2007, knowing the ladder truck had been taken out of service on September 15 and a leaking school roof can't be postponed much longer. And then there's the water rate increase the retiring Town Manager called to their attention months earlier.

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Maybe they were so convinced they would loose the 9/29 Recall Election, they ignored their responsibilities.

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Big Leagues, Mr. Spartaro? Or Abbott and Costello?

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Other towns are moving forward. Guess you hadn't noticed, Mr. Spartaro.

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In case you missed it, CCT is reporting a GRASSROOTS initiative in Yarmouth.

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Is that what is required to force Middleboro Selectmen to act on anything?

Yarmouth Town Hall Goes Solar this week SolarWrights installs town's first renewable energy system
An Orleans renewable energy company reported today that the installation of a new renewable energy system consisting of 60 photovoltaic modules on the roof of Yarmouth Town Hall will be completed this week. The project is being done by Liz Argo, project manager and Massachusetts state director of SolarWrights, Inc., a Bristol, Rhode Island-based renewable energy provider with offices in Orleans.
The environmental benefits are equivalent to planting three acres of trees. The final commissioning of the photovoltaic electricity system will be done by the end of the month making the Town of Yarmouth a leader in taking the important first steps into the renewable energy age.
Grassroots made the town green. The effort was first conceived by Peter White of Yarmouth. He led a grassroots movement which placed an article on last May's Town Meeting ballot. Yarmouth voters affirmed their desire to "go green" by voting overwhelmingly to appropriate $50,000 towards the installation of photovoltaic modules on the roof of their Town Hall. The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC) matched the Town's funds with an additional $50,000 through the MTC's Small Renewables Initiative grant. By October the Town had released its Request for Proposals and the Town's first renewable energy system was on its way to becoming a reality."This 10.5kW photovoltaic system is an important first step in reducing the Town's reliance on fossil fuels," according to Argo. "This grid-tied PV electrical system will offset around 13,000kWH (kilowatthours) of electricity every year from the Town's electrical bills. With current prices of 20 cents per kilowatthour that will equal $2,600 the taxpayers will save on the price of electricity every year. As electric prices go up, the savings will be far more significant. Additional revenue will be realized by the Town's sale of their Renewable Energy Credits or RECs", added Argo.To some residents the real success story of the Yarmouth Town Hall lies in the environmental benefits the renewable energy system will offer. Along with reducing the production off Nitrous Oxides and Sulfur Dioxide, the 10.5kW PV installation will eliminate 20,620 lbs of Carbon Dioxide from entering our atmosphere every year. These environmental benefits are equivalent to planting three acres of trees. CCT

Energy Savings? Not in Middleboro!

Taunton saved $570,000 on energy costs.

Other communities have done the same.

But not Middleboro!

Predictions are that oil prices will continue to escalate which should come as little surprise given an oil-friendly Administration in Washington and their willingness to de-stabilize the Middle East.

The failure to address the issue on a local level successfully creates a double whammy for taxpayers struggling with their personal rising energy costs and reducing their household consumption, nary a word is heard from those in elected positions in Middleboro.

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It appears that those who offer rosy promises of leadership when campaigning, drink the Kool Aid once elected, and surrender to the rudderless who accomplish little.

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The current Board of Selectmen discussed Quarterly Tax Billing in 2003, but have failed to act. And they have done much the same on a multitude of other issues.

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And what of the School Department that is a major municipal consumer?

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What do we do to effect leadership?

Oil Traders Eye $100 Crude Next Year
By JOHN WILEN –
NEW YORK (AP) — Oil prices headed slightly lower Monday, marking a quiet end to a record-breaking year, although rising demand and geopolitical instability are expected to keep upward pressure on energy costs early in 2008. AP

Crude Oil Slips By 2 Cents But Closes Year Up 57%
Monday, December 31, 2007 3:55:20 PM - Crude oil prices closed slightly lower on Monday, adding to Friday's modest decline. Light sweet crude for February delivery finished at $95.98, down 2 cents on the final session of 2007. Oil closed the year up $34.93 or 57% from the end of 2006. RTTNews

Pakistan unrest lifts oil prices
LONDON (AFP) — Oil prices rose solidly on Monday, pushed higher by concerns about instability in Pakistan and tensions on the Turkish border with oil-rich Iraq, dealers said