Islanders eye potential for wind power

A Peaks group considers erecting a wind meter to gauge whether wind power would pay

By TOM BELL, Staff Writer

February 11, 2009

PORTLAND — A group of Peaks Island residents is exploring the idea of generating wind power on the island.

The group is working with Unity College, which is considering installing a wind meter on Peaks to determine whether the idea is feasible.

Sam Saltonstall, a Peaks Island resident who is leading the effort, will make a presentation about wind power tonight to the Peaks Island Council.

Saltonstall is part of a group called Peaks Environmental Action Team. Last month, the group met with George Baker, director of the newly formed Fox Islands Wind LLC, which is working to develop wind power to serve residents of Vinalhaven and North Haven.

Saltonstall said Unity College would need a variance from the city's 35-foot height limit to install a wind meter. He said his group wants the council to support bringing the issue to the Portland City Council's Energy and Environmental Sustainability Committee.

The Peaks Island Council serves as an advisory panel for the Portland City Council.

Saltonstall cautioned that his group is still studying the issue. "If it doesn't make sense, we don't want to do it," he said. "This will be up to the islanders."

Peaks council member Michael Langella, who is also involved with the effort, said the meter would have to operate for two years to gather enough data to determine whether a turbine is feasible. The meter likely would go up on one of several city-owned parcels on the island.

The island is on the Central Maine Power grid, and islanders pay the same rate for electricity as mainland residents. As a result, the financial incentive for a wind turbine would not be as strong as it is for Maine islands that have their own electric distribution systems, such as Vinalhaven.

On those islands, power users pay roughly twice the rate paid by a typical residential customer on the mainland.

Nevertheless, Langella said he supports the initiative as part of broader national effort to increase the use of renewable energy and become less dependent on fossil fuels. He said he believes there is enough wind on the island to support wind generation.

Saltonstall said revenue from the turbine would be used to support community projects rather than lower electric bills.

Michael Richards, chairman of the Peaks Island Council, said he is unsure what role – if any – the council might play in the initiative. He said he expects residents to have some of the same concerns that have been raised about a proposed wind turbine on Munjoy Hill on the Portland peninsula.

The Portland school system last month delayed plans to install a 100-foot wind meter at East End Community School after area residents raised concern that low-frequency noise, vibrations and shadow flicker from wind turbines could cause health problems, such as headaches and nausea.