WIND POWER PICKS UP

Wind power, the fastest growing large-scale renewable energy source in the world, has a home in Maine. The question is whether it will thrive here and displace a significant amount of fossil fuel or whether each wind power project will become a political battle. To get the former, the state should look forward to the work of the governor’s Task Force on Wind Power Development, which met for the first time last week.

The task force is charged with reviewing Maine’s rules and regulations and recommending changes to set clear standards and streamline the permitting process for some projects. Where needed, it’s also supposed to establish a lead agency to track wind power generation and stay current with technological changes in the industry. As the Land Use Regulation Commission found with its debated ruling on the Redington Pond Range and Black Nubble Mountain near Sugarloaf, and as Mars Hill residents were surprised to hear when wind turbines began noisily whirring there, Maine has a lot to learn about this promising technology.

A more sophisticated state approach to wind power could attract more projects like the one at Stetson Mountain in Washington County. Its 38 wind turbines, each nearly 400 feet tall, are expected to provide enough electricity for the equivalent of 27,500 homes, displacing 100,000 tons of air pollutants annually. Yet this project, one of the largest proposed in New England, would have only a tiny impact on the overall power demand here.

Two of the ways the task force could make that impact substantially larger are to size up the state’s potential for wind power, thereby making developers’ jobs easier, and, as stated in the task force’s charge, propose wind power goals for 2010 and 2020 and suggest strategies for reaching those goals.

Just as with any power source, wind power demands trade-offs – in visual impact and in its effect on wildlife, among others. But with the seriousness of climate change and the increasing worldwide demand for fossil fuels, encouraging and expanding alternatives such as wind power makes sense for Maine.

If the task force is successful, it will produce a plan for siting wind turbines to the greatest possible effect with the least environmental harm. That’s a tough challenge, but one the state badly needs to undertake.