Competitive Energy Service

March 23, 2006

Mr. Jay Guber
Code Enforcement Officer
Town of Freedom
Freedom, Maine

Nancy Farrar-Bailey
Chairperson Freedom Planning Board
Town of Freedom
Freedom, Maine

Dear Jay and Nancy:
As you are aware, Maine Energy Aggregation Company, LLC, and its affiliates submitted an application on March 1, 2006 for a building permit to construct three (3) Wind Turbines on property leased from Ron and Susan Price, locally known as Beaver Ridge. Since submitting the application on March 1st, we have undertaken a number of tasks to facilitate the review of our application, including:
1. We have provided to Jay Guber a signed original of the form he has indicated is required for our application to be complete.
2. We have notified all abutters of our application and provided each with a complete copy of the application and supplemental materials that was submitted to Mr. Guber and the Planning Board on March 1. This information was sent by registered mail, and we have return receipts indicating successful delivery of the information packages.
3. We have scheduled a Public Meeting on April 3rd at the Grange Hall in Freedom to respond to questions residents may have about our application.
148 Middle Street, Portland, ME 04101 • Phone (207)772-6190 • Fax (207) 772-6320
www. energymaine.com
Freedom to attend the April 3rd Public Meeting, and have contacted each of the abutters
4. We have sent by U.S. Mail notices to each resident of Freedom inviting each resident of Freedom to attend the Api by phone of this meeting.
5. We have posted notices of the April 3rd public meeting in the newspapers and media outlets of local interest as well as at key places of local interest in Freedom as recommended by the Chair of the Planning Board. We have also requested that the Town Clerk post the public notice on the Town's web site.
6. We have responded to many telephone calls and other inquiries from residents of Freedom about our application.
7. We have posted copies of our application and supplemental materials on our company's web site at www.energymaine.com and have included this web site in all of our letters or notifications. These materials are available for inspection and download by any member of the public.
We believe that our application is complete and that it complies with all codes and ordinances in the Town of Freedom and is therefore complete and ready for review. As we have noted, the estimated total cost of our project will be $10 million, an amount that will increase the tax base in Freedom by almost 30%, which should provide important ongoing property tax relief for every single resident in the Town. We believe that our project is good for Freedom, and based on what we read in the local newspapers and on phone calls we have received, we believe that the vast majority of people in Freedom share our belief.
We understand that the Code Enforcement Officer and the Planning Board are concerned that they are being asked to approve an application for which it has few if any guidelines and no applicable zoning ordinances. We further understand that the Planning Board has initiated a process to develop and adopt zoning ordinances that will provide the basis for its review of commercial projects, but that these ordinances are not yet complete.
In light of this and our commitment to continue with this project only if it is in the interests of a majority of Freedom residents, please accept this letter as a formal request from Maine Energy Aggregation Company to the Town of Freedom Code Enforcement Officer and the Planning Board to suspend further consideration of our pending application until July 1,2006 or until the adoption of the ordinances should this occur prior to July 1st. We know that the Town will work expeditiously to develop ordinances that serve the residents of Freedom. If there is any information that we can provide to assist you in this process, please give us a call.
Finally, we are taking the liberty of enclosing a CD that contains a 17 minute video regarding wind developments in upstate New York and Pennsylvania communities that are very similar to Freedom. This video, which should run on any computer with a CD-Drive and has Windows Media Player (which can be downloaded for free from the following website: www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/default.mspx), contains important information
148 Middle Street, Portland, ME 04101 • Phone (207)772-6190 • Fax (207) 772-6320
www. energymaine.com
related to the most commonly heard criticisms of wind projects - not from those without experience, but from citizens and town officials that live as neighbors to these facilities. What you will see very clearly is that modern wind turbines DO NOT create noise problems, lower property values or kill birds. Wind Turbines DO contribute to the community by lowering taxes, preserving open farm land, reducing dependence on foreign oil, and preventing pollution. We encourage as many residents and town officials as possible to experience a wind turbine first hand by visiting the one in Hull Massachusetts or, even better, the large wind farms in New York State. Because this will simply not be possible for many folks, we plan to show this video at the Public Meeting on April 3rd.
Thank you for your prompt consideration of this request. With best regards, I am

Richard Silkman Managing Member

Encl. CD - Video regarding wind sites in New York and Pennsylvania

cc.Planning Board Members, Selectboard Members

148 Middle Street, Portland, ME 04101 • Phone (207)772-6190 • Fax (207) 772-6320