UPDATES—    

Property tax refunds avalible

Free Fare Fridays -for ridding the bus available in Maine

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS

Governor J.  Baldacci— The Governor talks candidly about Maine's energy independent future with reserach that puts the state on the cutting edge, natural resources that can be used sustainabley, and businesses working with the state to make it happen. 

Pat McGowan speaks about Maine’s Wood to Energy Initiative.  

Commissioner Laura Fortman -  explains the states’ new Job-Search –Job Match program

MAINE INITIATIVES—

Emergency Energy Task Force Report: —Ways to save energy and what the state is doing to help.

Wood to Energy Initative— How to convert to wood pellets.

MAINE COMMUNITY NEWS—

MITF Community Grants – Maine awards communities across the state with funds to improve downtowns

Portland Freedom Trail adds new historic markers.

Holocaust Museaum opens—   The Michael Klahr Museum was officially opened in Augusta

A.G. Rowe — Gets alcoholic producers of energy drinks to stop

 HEALTHCARE NEWS—

State’s Progress in HealthCare initiatives

MAINE AS 'ONE COMMUNITY' NEWS—

Land for Maine's Future grants announced.  More than 36,000 acres will be preserved .

Working Waterfront preservation grants announced  

MAINE'S INNOVATIVE ECONOMY—

Salmon Aquaculture —New Facility is the only research center in North America

New Wind Power Projects—The State gives TIFF tax breaks to wind power project in Western Mts. Off shore wind mills could meet all our energy needs, including heating needs.

Composite Technology Advances Business

Broadband News—Fairpoint Communications is adding jobs and Connect ME is deciding on the next round of grant recipients

MAINE ECONOMIC NEWS—

Taxes—Maine’s tax rating lowered because the old standard was misleading

Hodgon's Yacht expands—The new facility brings high wage jobs to Richmond.

Atkin's Printing— Maine’s oldest union printer is expanding while giving workers a share in profits

Locally Known Organic Farms— the largest in the Northeast plans to supply the entire region with organic greens

MAINE VOICES—

Energy Crisis— Green color jobs are the silver lining

Dem Corps— The organization is saving participants hundreds of dollars in it’s oil program

NEWS FROM CONGRESS—

U.S. Rep. Tom Allen— Bill to reduce heating expenses and winterization loans

U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud— Economic help for small ME businesses

GLOBAL NEWS— 

 Al Gore— His global challenge to curb Global Warming

ELETION NEWS— 

Barack Obama— His speech in Berlin

Please comment on any article, refer to which article in your email, and it will be posted on that article's page.    email: duhoux2@tds.net

Statistical information in this publication is obtained from state agencies and government offices.

All photographs, articles, and layout are by Ramona du Houx unless otherwise indicated.

Not authorized by any candidate, candidate’s committee, or the Maine Democratic Party

Ramona du Houx

Wind power, offshore in the Gulf of Maine, contains 100 gigawatts of wind energy potential, which is equivalent to roughly 10 percent of the nation’s electricity needs.

In July University of Maine researcher Habib Joseph Dagher testified before Congress that offshore wind power offers a real solution to the nation’s fossil fuel dependency. Dagher, who is the director of the Advanced Structures and Composites Laboratory at UMaine, said that Maine is ready to lead the charge to develop the technology. The UMaine composites center has built a worldwide reputation for its work, from creating a composite launch for the Navy SEALs to building structures that withstand bomb blasts.

The Composites Laboratory launched a campaign to develop and deploy experimental wind turbines just off the continental shelf in the Gulf of Maine. Dagher and his team are working on new state-of-the-art composite blades for windmills and are testing the durability of the turbine blades, working with businesses and the Ocean Energy Institute. For the deep-water, offshore wind turbines, the researcher said more funds will need to be allocated from the federal government for research and development, but the returns would be great. The investment in innovation could power the nation and help make the U.S. energy independent.

Tapping into only 5 percent of that potential would provide enough electricity to power all of the homes in Maine, Dagher said. The end goal is to have that 5 gigawatts of wind power in place in the Gulf of Maine by 2020.

These turbines would be located about 23 miles out to sea, making them invisible from land.

The turbines would be located in anywhere from 100 to 500 feet of water, augmenting the coral reefs, and would stand more than 500 feet in the air from base to the tip of the blades.

There are no wind energy systems operating in coastal U.S. waters, which offer the best wind resources, especially in the winter.

State economic aid to help wind power

The state Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) announced the recent approval of tax increment financing (TIF) for TransCanada Corporation's Kibby Wind Power Project on the Kibby Mountain and range in northern Franklin County. It is the second TIF ever approved for an unorganized territory in Maine. The facility will generate enough electricity to power 50,000 average Maine homes, the equivalent of all the households in Franklin, Oxford and Somerset counties.

"Now, more than ever, Maine must reduce its dependence on imported fossil fuels," stated DECD Commissioner John Richardson. "Maine has the highest wind-power potential in New England and Kibby Wind Power will not only create new jobs for the region but the electricity generated will be clean, green power."

The wind project promises to provide revenue as well as new jobs. As many as 250 jobs are anticipated during construction, and the facility will employ 10 to 12 people on a permanent basis. TransCanada's total investment in the project is expected to be $270 million.

"We are very pleased that the TIF has been approved," said Gary McGrane, a Franklin County commissioner who worked closely with TransCanada, other local officials and DECD on the application for the TIF. "I've been an advocate of a wind farm since 1991, and besides renewable, pollutant-free energy, the tax revenue earmarked from this project for economic development will be upwards of $4 million." McGrane said the county plans to support economic development activities, including promoting regional tourism, such as the expansion of the snowmobile trail system and the Maine Huts & Trails program.

"Working on the Kibby Wind Power project was great," said Alison Hagerstrom, executive director of the Greater Franklin Development Corp, a nonprofit organization that is a strategic partner of DECD and works to create and retain quality employment opportunities in greater Franklin County. "It will provide good jobs in the unorganized territory as well as green energy for Maine."

TransCanada has been working with the major environmental groups in Maine since the inception of the project. In June 2007, the Appalachian Mountain Club, Maine Audubon, and Natural Resources Council of Maine announced support for Kibby Wind Power.

Tax increment financing is a DECD program that guides and encourages local economic development activity. It is a tool that permits a municipality, or as in this case, a county, to participate in local project financing by using some or all of the new property taxes from a capital investment within a designated geographic district. The county has the option of using the "incremental" taxes to retire bonds it has issued for the project, compensate a developer or business for development project costs, or fund eligible community economic development activities.

TransCanada is a leader in the responsible development and reliable operation of North American energy infrastructure. A growing independent power producer, TransCanada owns, controls, or is developing approximately 8,300 megawatts of power generation.

Horizon Wind, the country’s third largest producer of wind power, is proposing an 800-megawatt wind development for Aroostook County. Investment from the project could top $1.6 billion. The new office is located at 34 North Street, Suite 5, in Presque Isle.

"Maine has the opportunity to be a national leader in the production of clean, renewable energy," said Governor Baldacci. "Other places talk about it, but Maine is doing it. We must aggressively develop new energy resources, so we can reduce the grip that expensive foreign oil has on our country."

Horizon Wind is proposing a multiple-phase wind-power development that could create more than 900 jobs during construction and between 135 and 150 ongoing jobs.

Gabriel Alonso, chief development officer for Horizon Wind, said the company expects to file for state permits later this year and hopes to have the first turbines spinning by the fall of 2010.