Stetson Mountain windfarm taking shape near Danforth

By Elna Seabrooks
Staff writer
    As fall gently burnishes the idyllic northern Maine landscape, 38 futuristic wind turbines, each standing nearly 400 feet tall, are amazingly at home in their rustic setting. Just outside Danforth, the Stetson Wind project is getting close to its scheduled December completion and will send electric energy to the ISO New England grid.
Pioneer Times photo/Elna Seabrooks
CHANGING LANDSCAPE — Thirty-eight massive wind turbines now dot the Danforth area horizon as the Stetson Wind electric power project nears its December deadline.
    While the influx of additional workers has given a boost to the surrounding area’s economy, it may not mean lower electric rates or tax income when the project is up and running. Karen Cummings of Grand Lake Variety in Weston says even though most of the extra business goes to Danforth, more people in the labor force have been “good for the stores, restaurants and people renting rooms or apartments.” Even though she says the turbines “look interesting,” she adds that she wishes “the people of Aroostook or Washington County or somewhere in Maine would get some benefit from them.”
Pioneer Times photo/Elna Seabrooks
ECONOMIC BOOST — Shane Pelletier from Presque Isle, who is an electrician’s helper, says his first experience on a wind project means steady work.
    Surrounding towns have not reaped any tax revenues due to Stetson Wind’s location in unorganized territory. So far, even Danforth only earned some storage fees. But, for many, like Shane Pelletier from Presque Isle, it has meant steady work. As an electrician’s helper, he goes up in a cherry picker to ground risers in the system. He summed up his first experience on a turbine project as “great.”
    The familiar water trucks weren’t around Monday to minimize the blooming dust clouds that heavy vehicles stir up as they go back and forth on the unpaved roads. Work starts early — around 4:30 a.m. — and many keep going until sundown. For Chris D., who does electrical connections, “it means job security” and the opportunity to work outside and see the beautiful scenery he loves.
    In Danforth, Debbie Theriault, who owns the Coffee Pot, says the wiring crew has brought in a lot of people from out of state who are very friendly and polite making it a godsend for the town and her business which is up about 20 percent.
    “Other than more business … we’re not going to benefit on our light bills which some people are quite upset with,” says Theriault. She sends tourists looking for interesting sights to locations where they can see the turbines (most people call them wind mills) and she doesn’t mind looking at them, but she is skeptical about the possible noise once they start running. “I wouldn’t want one in my backyard.”
    That familiar NIMBY syndrome — Not In My Backyard – is what kept the Stetson Wind project out of another area because, as Mike Moses puts it: “A NIMBY crowd decided it was going to be bad for hunting, or it was going to be noisy.” As an EMT in the Danforth division of Downeast EMS, he doesn’t know if they were right, but he says he likes looking at them when he’s fishing or driving down the road because they are like works of art — tall, elegant, graceful. The turbines are about one third the height of the Empire State Building – tall for northern New England. “And they’re needed. This is the right time for any kind of energy enhancements. It’s a good thing for the country,” says Moses.
    As America struggles to meet its energy needs and break dependence on foreign oil, more wind farm projects may be in the pipeline. Fred Gillis of Gillis Fuel and Gillis Lumber in Danforth says the wind farm won’t cut into his business and it has kept people working, shopping and spending locally. The demand for housing was so great they went as far as Houlton, he says. “It picked up the town quite a bit.”
    Gillis says more wind mills are coming but he only sees all the power going to Boston with no advantage for the immediate area.
    The lingering concern over local electric rates was also expressed by Maryann Howe of Kenduskeag who has a camp at East Grand Lake. “It would be great if Maine would benefit from it.” She says at home she gets electricity from Bangor Hydro and the power is “going to the grid and we buy it back from the grid and our rates go up.”
    Editor’s note: An interview request with Stetson Wind officials was turned down and the company representative directed readers to their Web site www.stetsonwind.com and their official project filings at http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1434804/000104746908008563/a2186834zs-1.htm.