Pineo Girl's Blog (145)

So the work session for LD 1513 has been postponed again!  Please keep in touch regarding this important legislation that effects all of us!

Everyone, please heed Monique Thurston's recent plea and write a quick letter or email to your legislator. It can be as simple as the three sentences below from Monique. You can copy and paste these or preferably, put into your own words. Add anything you wish, such as comments on the …

EUT Committee work sessions are been held today at 1:30 PM.  LD 1339 An Act To Provide Relief to Maine Ratepayers. and LD 1398 An Act To Reduce Electric Rates For Maine Businesses to be held today.

So Now the plans become clearer - Maine wind energy project are not so Maine can meet the renewable energy goals spelled out in the Expedited Wind Law. Maine wind energy is so others can meet their renewable goals!  Are we expected to foot the bill for transmission?  CMP already snuck one by us with their $1.4 billion "smart" meter upgrade - And now that CMP has been moved to Avangrid, Iberdrola's holding company, Iberdrola appears to be free to develop projects like Atlantic Wind in…

Emera sees a bright future for renewable energy in Northern Maine.  Let's hope they don't try to stick ratepayers with the transmission cost!

http://bangordailynews.com/2016/01/27/news/aroostook/northern-maine-electric-grid-a-small-market-with-big-potential-for-emera-2/?ref=BusinessBox

CMP (Iberdrola) and Emera Maine want to produce energy again! This should come as no surprise for those of us who follow energy closely. Both CMP and Emera have gone through a Corporate restructuring which may allow this to happen if the Maine legislature doesn't comply.…

Environment Maine is trying to buy their way back into the good graces of the wind industry hoping they can get back on the dole again by rallying Mainers around fighting climate change. Maine is now the greenest state in America.  We are already 60 % renewable energy. Why should we continue to destroy our mountain tops so other states can meet their own renewable energy mandates?  To help Environment Maine can fill their coffers?…

The Bangor Daily news, among others, is reporting the results of the first day off filings of the UT's to opt out of the expedited wind zone..

http://bangordailynews.com/2016/01/04/politics/state-receives-20-petitions-seeking-to-delay-wind-power-permits/?ref=latest…

The UT's officially started filing today with LUPC.  Congratulations to all of the UT's who filed today. They include:

Lexington

Highland Mountains

Molunkus

Carroll Plantation 

Citizens  in the Moosehead Lake region have taken the lead to opt out of the expedited wind area.  Moosehead Lake, known as the "crown jewel" of Maine is the most majestic, pristine lake in the Northeast US, if not the entire US. The Moosehead region enjoys a year 'round recreational economy.  It should be off limits to Industrial wind!…

Another UT joins in to opt out of the expedited wind zone. Allen and Mary Straub have spearheaded the effort for  Molunkus Township to opt out of the zone.  And according to Nicholas Livesay, around 30 other UT's have already inquired.  Rep. Larry Dunphy, sponsor of the bill,  and other Maine Legislators who represent the UT's have been at the forefront of alerting constitutents of this opporunity and assisting them with proper filing.…

KILLING MAINE, a novel by renowned existential thriller author and Maine native Mike Bond, wins first prize in fiction at the New England Book Festival. The book is a fictional novel about the greed and corruption of wind power in Maine all of which is not really fiction as we all know! The book is available in a Kindle edition and in print on Amazon.

Mike Bond is Chairman of Saving Maine, an environmental not for profit founded to fight wind in Maine. Currently focused on…

I'm happy to say goodbye to 2015 - Especially after Congress threw every American taxpayer under the bus by giving $700 billion dollars in tax breaks to corporate America and wealthy Americans! Let's not forget next November that Maine's entire Congressional delegation voted for these tax breaks - and to ship American oil overseas.

But here in Maine we do have a few things to be thankful for - and a few people to thank!

Thank you Kay and Alan Michka, Rep. Larry…

The article says tax breaks and falling costs are boosting  solar and wind - But at what cost!   We all know we are paying for this several times over - First with investment tax credits, then with production tax credits, and then with renewable energy credits before it even gets to the meter!  All this for 5% of the energy supply???

There was more hot air produced in this interview than from a wind project - including from Sun Edison's own Matt Kearns!…

A Christmas gift from the Maine PUC - Doing the right thing and representing Maine rate payers! The Maine PUC unanimously denies Maine Natural Gas Corporation's (a privately held corporation) attempt to pass on $40 million in capital improvements to rate payers.  This bodes well for Mainers who fear our privately held electricity transmission corporations will try to pass on transmission line improvements to rate payers!…

Governor LePage has nominated Paul Mercer to be the next DEP Commissioner  - How do you think he will deal with wind?  Rea on!

http://bangordailynews.com/2015/12/22/politics/lepage-nominates-trio-to-fill-cabinet-level-posts/…

So 2 years ago the Maine legislature voted to increase the spend limit on the Maine Turnpike to  70 MPH - The result - a 3% increase in carbon emissions from our transportation sector!  What are we doin' here folks?

http://www.pressherald.com/2015/12/10/recent-data-show-uptick-maines-greenhouse-gas-emissions/

With the boost from Congress and 5 more years of propped up support, the wind industry continues to spread their myths.  I for one wish they would start telling the truth...forget about capacity- tell the truth about production!

http://news.mpbn.net/post/wind-power-continues-steady-growth-across-us

So just like that - America gets the shaft!  Thank you Paul Ryan!

http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/how-big-oil-and-nancy-pelosi-defeated-the-house-freedom-caucus?intcid=mod-latest…

Well it looks like wind tax subsidies are here for another five years!

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/12/17/gop-budget-oks-billions-wind-solar-power-subsidies/