It's About Time for the Maine PUC to Eliminate the "Renewable Energy Credit" Program

If the PUC feels that RECs are no longer required to boost the number of renewable energy projects in Maine, they can discontinue the sales of RECs.  
Net Energy Billing has created an eruption of solar projects costing ratepayers billions, elominating the needed boost to renewables
Stop REC sales. Stop NEB, Stop price gouging ratepayers PUC!
Wake up Legislators, you have created a monster!
July 31, 2023
Harry A. Lanphear Administrative Director Maine Public Utilities Commission
18 State House Station Augusta, ME 04333-0018
RE: Docket 2023-00194; Inquiry Regarding an Alternative Compliance Payment Rate for Class II Resources
 Dear Mr. Lanphear: Below are Maine Power’s (“MP”) comments for the Commission’s consideration in Docket 2023-00194; Inquiry Regarding an Alternative Compliance Payment (ACP) Rate for Class II Renewable Energy Certificates or Credits (RECs).
Historical prices for Class II ACPs averaged $0.82. Based on the history of actual costs to Maine consumers, the ACP should be no higher than $1. During Standard Offer Service bidding period last fall for 2023, we observed prices of Class II RECs skyrocketing to approximately $14.50 according to one REC broker, ICAP Energy, LLC. They quoted Bid prices of $14 and Asked prices of $15. That means that prices went up 18 times as compared to historical periods. 
 If graphed, we would see a classic hockey stick graph of prices over time, indicating shortage pricing. We believe this may have started after a drought caused a temporary shrinking of supply forced up prices, exacerbated by rising demand for this lower priced class of RECs with no short or long-term way to increase supply. 
 The other classes of Maine RECs call for new resources. Thus, market forces leading to high prices will in time lead to new supplies and lower prices. A high ACP will not increase Maine Class II supply. These high prices likely resulted in costs to Maine electricity customers in 2023 of at least $50 million. This is because REC prices are built into Standard Offer price bids and the winning bid prices become the price-to-beat by Competitive Electricity Providers. The ACP set by this proceeding will likewise become the price-to-beat for the REC market.
 According to the MPUC’s report for 2021, Maine suppliers’ annual Class II requirements were over 3.6 million RECs1 . Thus, every dollar of ACP set will translate to $3.6 million annual cost to Maine homes and businesses. If the ACP were to be set at the maximum $10 allowed by the legislature, that would be $36 million per year or nearly $1 billion in costs over the next twenty-seven years (2024-2050). 
According to the MPUC report, supply was mostly from old hydro plants which have $0 fuel costs. With no corresponding increase in costs, the price increase is a windfall to these low-cost generators. There was no incremental benefit to consumers arising from these increased costs. Thus, this had a benefit-to-cost ratio of zero. In any case, the ACP should be no more than $1. This would result in an average cost burden to the Maine electric consumers similar to what was borne by these ratepayers from 2009 through 2021. Based on these previous costs, no higher ACP for Maine Class II is justified.
 Sincerely, 
 Jeffrey Jones 
 Jeffrey Jones Managing Member Maine Power, LLC 
40 Harlow Street, Suite 3 Bangor, Maine 04401

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Comment by Willem Post on August 7, 2023 at 8:55am

Here are two articles revealing the costs of UK/US offshore wind systems.

The electricity costs are at least 15 c/kWh, for

1) Wind turbines and about 30 miles of cabling to shore
2) Expansion/augmentation of onshore grids
3) A fleet of quick-reacting power plants to counteract the ups and downs of variable wind (and solar) output, 24/7/365.

If li-ion battery systems were contemplated, they would add at least 20 c/kWh to the cost of any electricity passing through them, during their 15-y useful service lives!

US/UK 56,000 MW OF OFFSHORE WIND BY 2030; AN EXPENSIVE FANTASY   
https://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/biden-30-000-mw-of-off...
 
EXCERPT

The US government, not the US people, has the insane fantasy of wanting to build 30,000 MW of offshore by 2030, i.e., just 7 years, but several companies, building projects for Massachusetts, will be allowed to walk away from the signed PPAs, and rebid at much higher prices next year.

The UK government, not the UK people, has the insane fantasy of wanting to build 26,000 MW of offshore by 2030, i.e., in just 7 years, but Vattenfall, a Swedish company, is putting 4,200 MW on hold, because Vattenfall spreadsheets show a “net revenue shortage” of about 40%, meaning the prices, c/kWh, offered by the UK auctions are about 40% too low. 

BTW, about 7,000 MW offshore was accepted after the 4th Auction bids in 2022; at least 4,200 MW are on hold. 

The continent-based European big wind companies have only one third of the capacity per year for building 56,000 MW offshore by 2030, or 8,000 MW/y. 

These companies will concentrate on the U.S. market, because the Biden “Inflation-Reduction-Act” subsidies are at least 50% higher than in the UK

NOTE: “The expense associated with a typical US offshore project, before bonus tax credits related to the Inflation Reduction Act, has increased by 57% since 2021,” Bloomberg recently reported, citing figures from Bloomberg-NEF. 
“Inflation of materials, energy, components, and labor costs explain about 40% of that, with 60% due to increased interest rates.”

NOTE: The EU, the UK and the Fed central banks just increased interest rates, which will make everything more expensive. 

BATTERY SYSTEM CAPITAL COSTS, OPERATING COSTS, ENERGY LOSSES, AND AGING
https://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/battery-system-capital...

Comment by Willem Post on August 6, 2023 at 7:25am

Dan,

Instead of “feels”, I suggest “judges” or “deems”

 

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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