LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Big Wind

 

As a resident of Vinalhaven that lives within a half mile of the Fox Islands Wind farm, this last year has been a journey from hope to anger and disgust. Fox Islands Wind continues to misrepresent and mislead our community using its authority to bully state regulators on the issue of violating noise standards while the Island Institute continues to pander its misinformation about the success of the project.

My experience has forced me to look into the deeper issues of industrial wind—the technology, the economics, and the politics—and the investigation has been an uncomfortable journey that has brought my once honeyed-eyed vision of easy, green power to the conclusion that industrial wind energy is, at present, bad science, bad economics, and bad policy.

Growing numbers of Mainers are demanding a moratorium on wind projects all over Maine. They are shouting truth to the half-truths, misrepresentations and distortions of industrial wind. As wind developers continue to demand that we give them our islands, our oceans and our mountaintops and then give up our rights to discussion and debate; as they undermine local codes to their benefit, as they thumb their noses at environmental compliance, we must ask a simple question: How many more years will citizens be expected to pay, and what rights will we have to surrender to benefit an unproven technology and the smoke and mirror economics that seem to be the foundation of industrial wind?

The lack of success on Vinalhaven has placed our quiet community on the front pages of the nation’s top newspapers. We are part of a breaking national story. The new reserves of natural gas that were found last year are putting the pressure on the already shaky promise of wind. Everyone in the northeast is enjoying lower electric costs due to the gas finds. Wind is wobbling.

The Island Institute continues to pronounce FIW a success, but if they come to your town I would suggest you ask a few hard questions. While they hand out pinwheels and ball caps you might ask what the wind developer’s plans are for the families who will lose their property values? Their health? Their heritage? In the scurry for subsidies and free money for big wind, your home, your health, or your fishing grounds are just so much collateral damage for the wind industry.

This past year I have gone from hope for a “green” tomorrow, to anger at the misrepresentations and disregard of Fox Islands Wind, to utter disgust at the continued arrogance of the Island Institute for promoting bad social policy.

Do your homework. Ask hard questions. Demand answers. Don’t let anyone make you feel you won’t understand, or that it’s very complicated. We listened to them. We trusted them.

Now we are disregarded. It could happen to you.

Cheryl Lindgren
Vinalhaven