A RATEPAYER FOCUSED STRATEGY FOR DISTRIBUTED SOLAR IN MAINE...from Public Advocate's Office
Are any of you plugged into the white papers produced under the Public Advocate's office STRATEGEN (Strategies for Clean Energy) series?
The Latest is a direct benefit for the solar PV industry in Maine, and possibly an 'end-around' to Maine's net metering, power generating, and grid interconnection rules. It would enable 'organized community shareholders' to underwrite solar farms to generate power and distribute it through the grid with a minimal charge for grid distribution and switching.
One variation I got involved in critiquing involved a coop owned solar 'farm'---changing the terminology to politically acceptable language and you can do almost anything, i.e. 'farm' = power plant; using the grid to distribute the power generated, in this case, a distant blueberry field, to the shareholders who in turn would be metered and billed by BH; but would pay the 'coop' for the power used.
It's feasible, as long as the people who run the grid and maintain the power lines agree to it and provide backup power when the sun doesn't shine. The version I saw, had no surcharges and assumed BH would keep track of who used what in their billing.
Think of it this way.
You have a well and you are connected to the water utility.
The well can supply you with water but there is enough most of the year to inject water into the water lines. Your friend on the other side of town can use 30 g. of the water and the utility will bill them for using 'your' water; or your water bill will be reduced for the cost of the 30 g.
**Under net metering, you can only get credited for up to the amount of power you use, CMP, etc. gets the rest. Under an expanded net metering, CMP, etc. would pay you for any excess power...that expansion has been defeated several times.
But under a solar farm concept, you and others can produce all you want and get paid at a 'green' rate; and the farm owners can make a 'profit'. The only people not benefiting are all the other ratepayers who didn't sign up; but have to pay CMP for your backup power, metering, line maintenance, etc.
Is it fair; or is it a great 'get rich' scheme for the large corporations selling solar PV panels since they are the ones who are behind this concept.... heck I'd love to see community hydro power 'farms' and have several clients eyeing the hydropower potential at their restored mill and their ability to bill tenants, and in turn using this to finance a full restoration including fish-friendly Archimedes screws.
Log into their site and you'll see a ton of testimony and white papers on all energy areas..they even supported lifting the 100 MW cap on hydro power.
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Maine as Third World Country:
CMP Transmission Rate Skyrockets 19.6% Due to Wind Power
Click here to read how the Maine ratepayer has been sold down the river by the Angus King cabal.
Maine Center For Public Interest Reporting – Three Part Series: A CRITICAL LOOK AT MAINE’S WIND ACT
******** IF LINKS BELOW DON'T WORK, GOOGLE THEM*********
(excerpts) From Part 1 – On Maine’s Wind Law “Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine if the law’s goals were met." . – Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, August 2010 https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/From Part 2 – On Wind and Oil Yet using wind energy doesn’t lower dependence on imported foreign oil. That’s because the majority of imported oil in Maine is used for heating and transportation. And switching our dependence from foreign oil to Maine-produced electricity isn’t likely to happen very soon, says Bartlett. “Right now, people can’t switch to electric cars and heating – if they did, we’d be in trouble.” So was one of the fundamental premises of the task force false, or at least misleading?" https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-swept-task-force-set-the-rules/From Part 3 – On Wind-Required New Transmission Lines Finally, the building of enormous, high-voltage transmission lines that the regional electricity system operator says are required to move substantial amounts of wind power to markets south of Maine was never even discussed by the task force – an omission that Mills said will come to haunt the state.“If you try to put 2,500 or 3,000 megawatts in northern or eastern Maine – oh, my god, try to build the transmission!” said Mills. “It’s not just the towers, it’s the lines – that’s when I begin to think that the goal is a little farfetched.” https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/flaws-in-bill-like-skating-with-dull-skates/
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Hannah Pingree on the Maine expedited wind law
Hannah Pingree - Director of Maine's Office of Innovation and the Future
"Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine."
https://pinetreewatch.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/
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