KIBBY TOWNSHIP - TransCanada, an energy company based in Calgary, Alberta, plans to apply within 30 days for a permit to build a $250 million to $300 million wind farm on two western Maine mountains.

TransCanada will ask the Land Use Regulation Commission for permission to install 44 turbines on 13.7 miles of ridge line on Kibby Mountain and Kibby Range, just south of the Quebec border, about 20 miles southwest of Jackman.

"We have satisfied ourselves that is an appropriate site for wind power," said Nick Di Domenico, TransCanada's project manager.

The company received LURC approval last year to erect three meteorological towers to measure wind velocity, Di Domenico said. It also conducted other environmental studies, including the project's impact on wetlands and bats.

An earlier project in Franklin County now under review by LURC is Maine Mountain Power LLC's $130 million proposal to build 30 wind towers atop the Redington Pond Range and Black Nubble mountains in Redington Township, near Carrabassett Valley.

TransCanada plans to seek a public hearing on its project next spring. If approved, construction would take place over two years, with some turbines operating by the end of 2008 and the project complete in 2009, Di Domenico said.

A substation would be built at the base of the ridge lines, from which about 29 miles of transmission lines would be constructed to connect with the Bigelow substation in Carrabassett Valley.

The proposed turbine heights will be 260 feet to the top of the hub where Federal Aviation Administration lighting would be located and an additional 150 feet to the tip of the blade.

On Wednesday, members of the LURC board signed off on the placement of three test wind towers on a ridge in rural Washington County.

LURC approved Evergreen Windpower's plans to erect two, 164-foot temporary meteorological testing towers on Stetson Mountain in northern Washington County not far from Baskahegan Lake.

The company will use data from the towers to determine whether the ridge would be suitable for full-sized turbines.

The commission also approved after the fact a 131-foot testing tower already in place on Stetson Mountain. Representatives of Evergreen Windpower said a contractor did not realize he needed a LURC permit to build the existing tower and a second one, which has since been removed.

Evergreen's parent company, UPC Wind Management LLC, is currently building a 28-turbine wind farm on Mars Hill in Aroostook County. Once operational, the Mars Hill wind farm will produce enough electricity to power 45,000 homes when operating at capacity.