Vermont Wood Energy Co. Files for Bankruptcy
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Good news is that a pellet mill is up and running at the same location in North Clarendon. http://www.abc40tv.com/Global/story.asp?S=9958516&nav=menu1460_2_9
What about the pellet mill scheduled to open in Island Pond for February. Does anyone know if that is up and running yet?
Vermont Wood Pellet Company tried to open a similar operation in Island Pond last year, but backed out after realizing it was too expensive. They are starting up operations at the North Claredon site this month. Hope they are successful as this is only about 8 miles from my house.
The Vermont attorney general negotiated a deal with the president of the bankrupt company to reimburse customers who paid for pellets but never got them:
http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20090515/NEWS04/905150357/1002/NEWS01
http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20090515/NEWS04/905150357/1002/NEWS01
Ossy
New Member
It doesn't surprise me in the least that the company went bankrupt in VT. Out of all the New England States, it is one of the "nimbiest" of them all in terms of building any industry, even "green" industries. It is the same here in Maine where the deck is stacked against any business that is willing to put forth the capital, effort, and assume the risk of starting a new company. Vermont and Maine have the potential to capitalize on "green" energy production, unfortunately there is very small minority of extremist environmentalist that opposes any progress regardless of the benefits.
Another example of this is the wind power industry which is just now beginning to take shape in Maine. Several people claim that the sound from the turbines cause health ailments as well as damage to the environment. Here is the end result demonstrating the effects of the extremist point of view:
http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epm/table5_6_a.html
The above link demonstrates the average electric cost in the New England area. Also if you look at the going price per ton for wood pellets, it too is above what other areas in the country are paying. This is not only a tremendous drag on the economy of the region as a whole but also stymies the move to other alternative "green" energy production. Thus we remain dependent on oil and coal.
Anyway, just some food for though... :roll:
Ossy
Another example of this is the wind power industry which is just now beginning to take shape in Maine. Several people claim that the sound from the turbines cause health ailments as well as damage to the environment. Here is the end result demonstrating the effects of the extremist point of view:
http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epm/table5_6_a.html
The above link demonstrates the average electric cost in the New England area. Also if you look at the going price per ton for wood pellets, it too is above what other areas in the country are paying. This is not only a tremendous drag on the economy of the region as a whole but also stymies the move to other alternative "green" energy production. Thus we remain dependent on oil and coal.
Anyway, just some food for though... :roll:
Ossy
tjnamtiw
Minister of Fire
LewLasher said:
Just take the time to Google 'Luis Algarin' and you'll see there is no halo around his head! He has quite a history, as you'll find out. Stay as far away from him as you can IMHO.
tjnamtiw
Minister of Fire
LewLasher said:
Sounds like Luis either totally BS'd the attorney general or something worse to get let off the hook like that! Doesn't the Attorney General look at the guy's past dealings? I didn't know that you could still buy an acre of land for $4000 anywhere in the NE! Amazing. Even in rural Georgia it's more than that. He is definitely a con artist, IMHO.
tjnamtiw
Minister of Fire
Ossy said:
Yes, Congress made a huge mistake by not exempting wind power investors from frivolous lawsuits for annoyances and BS like you point out. I've seen it happen in Pa where someone was shut down by the township because a neighbor down the street said the windmiill made too much noise. Buy the idiot some ear plugs. Heck, after a short time you wouldn't even notice the noise. My grandfather clock chimes every 15 minutes but I hardly ever hear it and it's in the next room. Once again, no one reads the legislation and no one discusses or thinks through the ramifications. 'Just hurry up and pass it
'
wil lanfear
Feeling the Heat
I agree, but ....... this was a scam from day one, it wouldn't have mattered what state it happened in. I purchased a 1/2 ton of pellets from him the first week he opened his business. I was satisfied with the way they burned. The second weekend I purchased a ton, ended up purchasing 14 tons total, but..... when I paid for a ton, I took it home. When he mentioned that he would store your puchased pellets for free, I started puchasing 2-4 tons per week because my gut told me what was going to happen. It took longer than I expected but it did happen. Many people fell into this con, paying for pellets, having them stored by him, finding out that he in fact did not have them stored so they would never get them.
webbie
Seasoned Moderator
Wood pellets is a risky business, period. Very capital intensive also. Ups and downs are to be expected.
As to wind power, etc. - you don't throw reason out the window because you want instant satisfaction. That is too typical of the "drill baby drill" mentality that has been exhibited by some. Wind power is a great thing, but like most utilities it is vastly more effective when done on a large scale. The power of the wind increases with the cube of the wind speed, therefore a 16MPH average wind holds 4x the power potential of an 8mph wind (or something like that).
The proper siting for wind machines in the NE is offshore.....period, IMHO. Oh, there may be room for a couple dozen on a mountain ridge somewhere, but just look at the wind charts and it becomes fairly clear. We need hundreds of these machines, maybe thousands. It would be folly (or "feel good" politics) to put them in marginal areas.
Should we put the giant solar electric plants with mirrors here also? Of course not - they do best in the desert.
Basic reason and economics at work.
As to con men, they tend to show up where ever suckers are to found....and that is most everywhere as PT Barnum noted.
As to wind power, etc. - you don't throw reason out the window because you want instant satisfaction. That is too typical of the "drill baby drill" mentality that has been exhibited by some. Wind power is a great thing, but like most utilities it is vastly more effective when done on a large scale. The power of the wind increases with the cube of the wind speed, therefore a 16MPH average wind holds 4x the power potential of an 8mph wind (or something like that).
The proper siting for wind machines in the NE is offshore.....period, IMHO. Oh, there may be room for a couple dozen on a mountain ridge somewhere, but just look at the wind charts and it becomes fairly clear. We need hundreds of these machines, maybe thousands. It would be folly (or "feel good" politics) to put them in marginal areas.
Should we put the giant solar electric plants with mirrors here also? Of course not - they do best in the desert.
Basic reason and economics at work.
As to con men, they tend to show up where ever suckers are to found....and that is most everywhere as PT Barnum noted.
rona
Minister of Fire
There is a interesting history behind Luis just google his name. I found it odd no one questioned his numbers or his past history before he got in so deep.
He claimed to have the plan to employ 500 people and nobody questioned it? Smoke screen all the way he should have been a politician. You would have to go back in the local newspaper to read the whole story But how could anybody believe the figure 500 people is beyond me.
I wonder how many people he fleeced and if he will skate free when its all done.
Changing the subject and thinking renewable energy I wonder if anybody has studied using the changing tides as a source of energy. Using the wind as a source of power is fine but we also have to furnish power when the wind stops. and also there has to be a new grid system to get the power from the source to the consumer. Another problem is the consumer cost- In this day and age when everything is going south how much deeper in debt can this country go before it just quits producing? Just look around at how much we have lost by industries going over seas. Car companies will be next.
Its funny when we ask about cost effectiveness. If it isn't the gov will add enough taxes on the other choice to make sure it works in their favor.
He claimed to have the plan to employ 500 people and nobody questioned it? Smoke screen all the way he should have been a politician. You would have to go back in the local newspaper to read the whole story But how could anybody believe the figure 500 people is beyond me.
I wonder how many people he fleeced and if he will skate free when its all done.
Changing the subject and thinking renewable energy I wonder if anybody has studied using the changing tides as a source of energy. Using the wind as a source of power is fine but we also have to furnish power when the wind stops. and also there has to be a new grid system to get the power from the source to the consumer. Another problem is the consumer cost- In this day and age when everything is going south how much deeper in debt can this country go before it just quits producing? Just look around at how much we have lost by industries going over seas. Car companies will be next.
Its funny when we ask about cost effectiveness. If it isn't the gov will add enough taxes on the other choice to make sure it works in their favor.
wil lanfear
Feeling the Heat
The article mentions $80,000 he has to come up with to give back to people, he sold pellets for $199.00 per ton, I would guess many people got took. IMHO, if he repays money to people that he owes pellets to, the AG will let him off the hook, why else would he be willing to sell his property to pay these people. This scam also included purchasing the Bixby Maxfire stove which didn't happen, he was buying them for costs of production, now Bixby wants the the difference between the production costs and the dealer costs from him. I'm betting this very same thing happened with PA Pellet LLC, he convinced them that he would purchase the company, got pellets at cost of production, when he couldn't come through with money to purchase, he could no longer get pellets from them.
Ossy
New Member
Webmaster said:
Its a free country and you are entitled to your opinion, even if it is incorrect. The point that was made is that regardless of what business is being proposed in the NE there is nimby who will oppose it. Unless you have 110% "buy in" then the odds are that you will fail in opening a large scale production plant in the NE.
As far as siting the windmills, Maine has plenty of locations where it is economically feasible to erect them. One thing that you fail to point out Web is that the cost of erecting windmills offshore is VERY EXPENSIVE due to the necessary foundation support and underwater transmission lines. Also, I am sure you are well aware of the ongoing battle to locate windmills off shore of Mass. Your statement assumes that a company will erect a windmill without weighing the associated risk(s) and conducting the necessary technical studies to begin with which is a hollow statement from the start. Besides having the appropriate wind site conditions, one of the biggest factors in siting a string of windmills is the ability to tie into the high voltage grid which can become costly as well.
I think your statements are well aligned with those who oppose any type of manufacturing or producing any value in this country. I am sure that you think everyone should be in retail sales with full benefits which is different story. ;-)
Now as far as the gentlemen being a "shyster". well I have don't know him or of him. However, if he did what is being stated then they should send him to prison.
Best regards,
Ossy
tjnamtiw
Minister of Fire
Ossy said:
Siting windmills off shore is a totally unnecessary, expensive step to just appease special interest groups' lobbyists (were we not promised that lobbyists would be removed from the halls of Congress?). We have thousands of miles of shoreline that could be used for these windmills. If you've ever driven the Outer Banks of NC, you know that there is absolutely nothing there except shoreline begging for a few thousand windmills. It's the same in most areas. All it takes is a Congress telling the lobbyists to go pound sand because we are going to do it. Well, that kills that thought, doesn't it? Some idiot will come up with excuses why it can't be done but IT CAN BE DONE
As far as the shyster, as I and rona said, just Google his name!
rona
Minister of Fire
Basically putting windmills along the shore line of Ma will be proven impossible because Kennedy said so. But anyplace else would be a good idea just not in his back yard.
tjnamtiw
Minister of Fire
rona said:
Exactly the point. Special interest groups all the way and ESPECIALLY if your last name is Kennedy. Maybe they could put one on each side of 'THE BRIDGE' so NO ONE runs off of it........
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