Wind Farm Site In Western Maine Gets Key Equipment

Built in Manitowoc, Wis., the crane sat in pieces in Woolwich, where contractor Reed & Reed Inc. stored the materials until it was time to set the windmills.

On Tuesday, four low-bed trucks began the 143-mile journey from Woolwich to Kibby Mountain. Fourteen truckloads had already been delivered to Kibby Mountain.

The timing of delivery is important. Truckers have to beat Maine's "mud season" — in late March and early April — when the ground becomes too soft for the heavy load.

Kibby Mountain may boast the next biggest and most powerful wind farm, but for now that claim goes to a wind farm that opened two months ago by First Wind, a Newton, Mass., company.

First Wind completed a 38-turbine wind farm along Stetson Mountain's long, low ridgeline of 600 to 1,200 feet. It was First Wind's second Maine project.

First Wind's Mars Hill development had been New England's largest commercial wind power project until the company completed the Stetson project. Together, the two will produce just under 100 megawatts of power.