First Wind

Posted By Diane


DSC_0001First photo is our newest member Paul Gentle with Club President Lori Weston. Paul has been an active member of the community for years with the Elks Club, Shriners, American Legion post 47 and of course the Linneus Sno Sports Inc. So what better place to continue to serve our wonderful community then Rotary. We are excited to have him join our club! Paul enjoys camping, volunteer catering, Hound Guard and organizing events. He is ready to give us his time and talent.DSC_0004

The Houlton Rotary Club hosted Matt Kearns, VP Business Development for First Wind, as the guest speaker of the day. The Houlton Rotary meets every Monday noon and hears from speakers representing topics of interest to the area. Mr. Kearns summarized the history of First Wind as a national, private energy- producing firm that began operating its first wind farm in Mars Hill, Maine in 2007. Since then, First Wind has grown to include wind farms and solar energy sites in four eastern states, three western states, and Hawaii.
First Wind’s newest project is Oakfield Wind in Oakfield, Maine, approximately 15 miles from Houlton. Oakfield Wind is designed for 48, 3MW turbines and is will bring 300 jobs to the area during construction. First Wind and its partners expect to employ up to twelve operational employees connected to Oakfield Wind. This site is expected to generate power equivalent to what would power 50,000 homes.
Mr. Kearns concluded his presentation by taking questions from the audience. Many of the questions centered around Maine’s power connections to the New England power grid, NB Power, and the efforts to keep local power at competitive rates. Mr. Kearns invited more local input and may be reached at mkearns@firstwind.com

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