Mars Hill wind farm in Maine. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

A Boston-based wind energy company is facing an unusual problem for its proposed wind farm in Maine: the site is too windy for even the burliest of turbines.

Company officials for First Wind said last week that the Longfellow Wind Farm may be in doubt because of the excessive winds on site; proving that too much of a good thing (wind) is still possible in the wind industry -- at least with current technology.

First Wind's vice-president of business development Matthew Kearns said at a public meeting in Rumford that because of the strong, irregular wind resource on Black Mountain, the Longfellow Wind Farm project may no longer be viable.

"The wind is very, very turbulent, so we don't even know yet whether to proceed with the project at all," Kearns told a packed house eager to learn about the company's future plans in the area.

"The gusts are extraordinary, and that's a problem for wind turbine bearings," Kearns said. "Turbine blades like a nice even wind."

While there have been considerable advances in research on making wind turbine blades stronger, the technology to make the supporting gearboxes stronger is moving at a much slower pace.

First Wind has already developed two other commercial projects in Maine—the Stetson Wind Farm and Mars Hill wind farms—and is currently working on another project in Roxbury, Maine.

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