St. John Aroostook RC&D to host Wind Power Conference

PRESQUE ISLE – ‘Energy’ conservation, diversity and independence is a topic on everyone’s mind, whether you’re a landowner, business, municipality, educational entity or other. One of the alternative sources being discussed and utilized is wind power. To address and provide guidance on this energy alternative, the St. John Aroostook Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) Area Council is hosting an “Increasing Energy Diversity and Independence: Growing Wind Power Generation in Maine” conference on Tuesday, Oct. 21. The conference is being held at the Campus Center at the University of Maine at Presque Isle, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
    The intent of the day-long conference is to provide relevant guidance to assist attendees in the generation of wind power of all scales including farm, residential, municipal, community and corporate-sized projects involving private, public and hybrid ownership. 
    At this conference you will hear presentations from a variety of speakers from as far away as Washington state on such topics as: The Benefits of Local Wind Turbine Ownership; Wind Turbine Information for Municipalities, Farms, Residences, Developers and Small Businesses; Financing, Permitting and Local Ordinance Issues; Wind Farm Power Transmission; Wind Policy and Initiatives in Maine; Conducting Public Forums; Wind Turbine Effects on Real Estate Values; Wind Turbine Noise; Updates on Wind Projects in Maine; and other relevant issues.
    Registration is $40 per person. Please make checks payable to the “St. John Aroostook RC&D Council” and mail to the St. John Aroostook RC&D, 735 Main Street, Suite 3, Presque Isle, ME 04769 by no later than Oct. 14. 
    For more information or to register for the conference, contact Skip Babineau, RC&D Coordinator, at 764-4126, ext. 5, or e-mail skip.babineau@me.usda.gov.