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January 15, 2008

LURC splits wind farm decisions

Maine's Land Use Regulation Commission yesterday approved plans for one wind farm in western Maine, but rejected another.

LURC, the planning authority for Maine's Unorganized Territories, gave preliminary approval to TransCanada's plan for a 132-megawatt wind farm on Kibby Mountain in Franklin County, according to a press release. But LURC voted against Maine Mountain Power's proposal for a 54-megawatt wind farm on Black Nubble Mountain, located near Sugarloaf in Carabassett Valley.

Commissioners said the Black Nubble project, which is a scaled down version of a proposal LURC rejected in January 2007, would harm rare plant and animal species in the area and blight views from the nearby Appalachian Trail, according to the Associated Press. The Kibby Mountain project wouldn't intrude as much on the view and the environment, commissioners said.

TransCanada, based in Alberta, Canada, wants to start building the Kibby Mountain turbines by 2009 or 2010, at a cost of $250 million. LURC still needs to approve the final design for the turbines.

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