First Wind strikes deal with opponents in Bingham
A group of nonprofit organizations representing the Appalachian Trail has dropped its opposition to a proposed 62-turbine wind farm in Bingham after a subsidiary of the Boston-based First Wind agreed to create a $700,000 land conservation fund and adhere to certain restrictions.
The Kennebec Journal reported that the company, Blue Sky West, also agreed to take measures to protect scenery along the trail, near what would be the state’s largest wind farm to date. The project would also include a 17-mile transmission line from Kingsbury Plantation to a Central Maine Power Co. substation in Parkman, the newspaper reported. The company also agreed not to propose additional turbines closer to the Appalachian Trail and to install radar-activated lights, which would only turn on when aircraft are near the project, in an effort to reduce nighttime light pollution from the project.
Lester Kenway, president of the Maine Appalachian Trail Club, said in a press release that the club sought to strike a balance between protection of the 2,160-mile trail from Georgia to Maine and “the need for renewable energy.”
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