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Thursday, July 12, 2007

After 10 years of work by Lee to bring the proposal to fruition, commissioners found themselves unable to sanction construction of huge turbines in the sensitive alpine habitat, long cherished by naturalists as well as hikers on the adjacent Appalachian Trail. This, despite the fact that the commission's own staff had recommended approval of the project.

It was a blow, as well, to those who believe that the ecological perils of global climate change outweigh the ecological impact of turbine and road construction on the mountains.

We joined with those who protested the decision as shortsighted and, to a degree, sentimental. The critical challenge to produce non-carbon polluting energy means that we need to take a hardheaded look at the tradeoffs when projects like these are proposed. What was once unacceptable in the era before climate change may now require us to adjust our standards. That's the nature of compromise in the face of threat.

A compromise emerged this Monday.

That's when developer Lee and a host of environmental, public health and clean energy groups announced that the wind-power developer had agreed to scale back the project to just Black Nubble Mountain, which is farther away from the Appalachian Trail than Redington.

The new proposal to the commission is for construction of 18 turbines, versus the original 30; they'll produce power for the equivalent of 21,545 Maine homes annually instead of the original 44,300. And if the state permits construction of that substantially smaller project with less environmental impact, then Lee will permanently restrict wind-power development on Redington Pond Range, which is the last undeveloped and unprotected 4,000 foot peak in Maine.

The application to the commission states that, "on balance, the Black Nubble Wind Farm will result in long-term benefits and does not cause undue adverse impacts to the jurisdiction." At the same time, developers claim that "the environmental benefits from this project, which include cleaner air, reduced emissions of greenhouse gases that cause global warming ... outweigh the limited adverse impacts of the Black Nubble Wind Farm."

There are some environmental groups in opposition to even this new plan, but many more have appropriately jumped on board with Lee. We supported the plan the first time around when it included Redington Pond Range. Now, by coupling a promise of protection for Redington with a scaled-back project, we hope Lee can similarly convince the commission of the project's undeniable merits.

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