Denial likely for mountain wind project
A denial is likely for First Wind’s $100 million, 16-turbine wind project on Bowers Mountain.
The Bangor Daily News reported that while the Board of Environmental Protection delayed making a formal decision Thursday, it said it will likely reject the proposal for the wind energy facility proposed for Bowers Mountain, which is located between Carroll Plantation in Penobscot County and Kossuth Township in Washington County and surrounded by eight lakes.
A First Wind spokesman said the company will very likely appeal to Maine’s top civil court if the project is rejected.
The BEP delayed its decision to June 5 to have Maine Department of Environmental Protection officials elaborate on their recommendation to deny the project.
DEP Commissioner Patricia Ago said even with the changes asked by the BEP, it’s likely the proposal will still be rejected when it’s considered in June.
“[BEP members] really need the precise, actual language of the denial in front of them” before voting, Aho said, “considering that there is a high likelihood of an appeal.”
The BEP’s consideration comes after First Wind sought an appeal for the project’s denial by the DEP last year. DEP’s denial was issued on the grounds that the 16-turbine facility would have an adverse visual impact on the surrounding areas, echoing concerns made by officials this week.
Massachusetts-based First Wind has been seeking to build a wind energy facility atop Bowers Mountain since 2011. Its first proposal to build a 27-turbine facility was denied by the now-defunct Land Use Regulation Commission in April 2012. First Wind then submitted a plan for the 16-turbine facility a year later.
On Thursday, First Wind announced that it had obtained $369 million in financing for a separate wind project it plans to build in Oakfield, Aroostook County.
Read more
Most Recent
Most Recent
Comments