"In the last 40 plus years there has been thousands of publically funded alternative energy demonstration projects throughout the state and l have never seen any special interest group bring a single concrete technical report of the results accomplished relative to the promises made. Why have we never seen a single successful anniversary story in the news?
Puffing
"

James C. LaBrecque
323 Stillwater Ave. #14
Bangor, Maine 04401
james.flexwa_r_e@gmail.com
(207) 262-9682
Maine Energy Utility and Technology Committee
April 9, 2015
RE: LD1073 An Act To Lower Energy Costs and Increase Access to Solar Energy for Agricultural Businesses
Dear Chairman Woodsome, Dion and Committee members,
My name is James LaBrecque and I'm from Bangor.
I am not in favor of LD1073 for the following reasons.
Occam's razor states that among competing hypotheses that predict equally well, the one with the
fewest assumptions should be selected.
Typical 250 watt solar panel installation cost are about $1,000.00 and have a proven capacity factor
around 14%.
Three panels at an installation cost of $3,000.00 is required to run a 100 watt light bulb continuously for one year, whether the panel is connected to your fuse box at home or connected to the utility grid.
The largest grid solar project in Maine is proposed with a capacity of 2.8 megawatts requiring 9,500 solar panels costing $9 million. The cost per panel is $947.37. The full project will produce
$17,535.00/mo at 6 cents/kWh.
Cost of money alone on nine million dollars for 20 years is $54,538.23/mo. leaving a monthly deficit of $37,538.23 a month or $8,880,775.20 over 20 years.
Special interest promoting this technology avoid the simple deduction realized by Occam's razor, instead
complicate and confuse the public with massive intertwined laws and bills that are not in the public
interest but in the interest of a few special parties.
Apparently Maine lawmakers continues suffering from a long history of what legal scholars refer to as
"puffing" .
Contract law defines puffing as opinions by sellers that are not considered representations of fact but merely exaggerations that are typically expected from sellers. These exaggerations are not considered to be legally binding promises. Such exaggerations cannot be used as a basis for a lawsuit unless the
exaggeration substantially exceeds reality.
Puffing, endemic within the alternative energy industry to market products through legislation has permeated law at every level of government, whether local, county, State, Federal or international over the last 40 years. What other industry continues to enjoy legislative support with such a long history of
broken promises and market failures?
The legislation recommended by these special interest groups is intended to increase sales not through the free market place that has failed them, but through more government incentives including, removing financing barriers, adding new financing tools, green banks, lower installation cost by imposing new rules, regulations and rate designs, changing codes, permits and inspection for solar products, and sales tactics to impress lawmakers in thinking that these products will create good jobs, foster economic growth, get us off oil, save the planet, and protect our children etc.
After four years of investing in alternative energy the giant technology company Google with deep pockets concluded that all their technology and multi-millions in solar efforts was futile, according to Ross Konington and David Fork in a November 18, 2014 news article in 'lEEE entitled “What lt Would Really Take to Reverse Climate Change"
"(Quotes from Google about pulling out of their Renewal Energy Cheaper than Coal (RE<C))
"We're glad that Google tried something ambitious with the RE<C initiative, and we're proud to have been part of the project. But with 20/20 hindsight, we see that it didn't go far enough, and that truly disruptive technologies are what our planet needs. To reverse climate chanqg, our society requires
somethinq bevond today's renewable enerqy technologies".
"At the start of RE<C, we had shared the attitude of many stalwart environmentalists: We felt that with steady improvements to today's renewable energy technologies, our society could stave off catastrophic climate change. We now know that to be a false hope—but that doesn't mean the planet is doomed. ”
Google, a money making concern, experienced the true value of solar with their own money and come
to quick decisions, solar special interest want lawmakers to force hard working Maine tax and rate
payers to continue funding the solar industries futile experiments with our money in perpetuity. Why would Maine lawmakers want to force through law their constituents to invest in products that
successfully savvy, hi-tech companies like Google determined through firsthand experience was not a good deal. What's more reliable, the tested Google experience using their own money, or the 40 plus
years of special interest continuing on with their broken promises?
Solar special interest groups have nothing over Google and bring nothing new to the table but puff without promise, what are we paying for? The Maine legislature has always failed to compare past
promises from these special interest groups with actual results.
In the last 40 plus years there has been thousands of publically funded alternative energy demonstration projects throughout the state and l have never seen any special interest group bring a single concrete technical report of the results accomplished relative to the promises made. Why have we never seen a
single successful anniversary story in the news?
Puffing as to how cheap solar power has become, is not supported by hard facts as determined by the general market place who failed to accept the industries value of solar as viable, as well as wealthy and sophisticated technical giants such as Google. Although the price of "solar panels" have dropped e.g.
$1.00/watt which is good, the cost of ”solar power" is and will remain uncompetitive for the following
reasons.
1. The price of solar power is determined by the ”total cost" over the ”total energy production" 2. The numerator consists of all the costs e.g. solar panel, structural framing, copper wire, labor, mileage, sales cost, inverters, taxes, interest, insurances, profit and other overhead, etc. 3. At a dollar a watt for solar panels, a 250 watt panel would only decrease a $1,250.00 home solar panel installation cost by $250.00 if given away for free. 4. The total electric energy produced by the collector is carried in the denominator and limited by mother nature e.g. it is dark every night of the year and in the winter when demand for energy is 5 times greater than in the summer it is dark most of the day as well, producing very little energy during the times of greatest energy demand. l\/lother Nature further limits sunshine due to cloudy, snowy and rainy days. Limited sunshine reduces the capacity factor of a solar collector from 250 watts to 35 watts or 14%. Solar panels cannot produce more power than Mother Nature is willing to provide. Mother Nature is not going to increase the amount of sunshine she gives us each year therefore the denominator is fixed by Mother Nature. 5. When considering the limitations in both the numerator e.g. the installation costs of a solar system and the limitations in the denominator, e.g. Maine's limited annual sunshine exposure to solar panel, the $1.00/watt cost for panels claimed by the industry can easily reach $35.00/watt ($1,250.00/35watts = $35.71 per watt). A puff exaggeration by the industry 35
times greater than reality.
The cost of solar panels has dropped in part because of technological advancements in the electronic industry that has financially benefits all industries, and has dropped in part because of the industries financial failures. E.G. (Find the following examples of solar company bankruptcies on any search engine)
Solyndra, after receiving $1.6 billion from DOE, filed for bankruptcy protection Enrerl, after receiving $118.5 million from DOE, filed for bankruptcy protection Beakon Power, after receiving $43 million from DOE, filed for bankruptcy protection Abound Solar, after receiving $400 million from DOE, filed for bankruptcy protection Amonix, after receiving $5.9 million from DOE, filed for bankruptcy protection Babcock & Brown (an Australian company), after receiving $178 million from DOE, filed for bankruptcy
protection Solar Trust for America, after receiving $2.1 billion loan guarantee from DOE, filed for bankruptcy
protection
Nevada Geothermal, after receiving $98.5 million from DOE, warns of potential defaults in new SEC
filings
SunPower, after receiving $1.5 billion from DOE, is reorganizing, cutting jobs
First Solar, after receiving $1.6 billion DOE, is reorganizing, cuttingjobs A123 Systems, after receiving $279 million from DOE, shipped bad batteries and is barely operating. lt
cut jobs as well.
There are also many private concerns across the country losing money on solar investments as well, for example, "'SpectraWatt backed by Intel and Goldman Sachs, filed for bankruptcy protection owing its creditors 38.7 million. Many state agencies across the country are losing money as well. Just look at New England states, “’Evergreen Solar, after receiving millions of dollars from the state of Massachusetts, filed for bankruptcy protection and Maine's own "Ascendant Energy, after receiving about $1 million in loans or grants through the Maine Technology Institute filed for bankruptcy.
You can rest assured that all this lost money was used to leverage state loans and grants, bank financing, and other private investments that most likely were never paid back as well. Add to that the real
likelihood that vendors, suppliers, and landlord's etc. all lost vast sums of money. It's obvious that solar panel costs have dropped in price when considering the fact that many solar manufactures have never
paid their bills resulting in fire sale prices driven by bankruptcies. Puffing this industry asjob creators is not supported by facts.
Added to the deep discount associated from all these losses we must not forget all the local, state, and
federal subsidies including direct utility subsidies such as net meter hardware and undisclosed utility subsidies that come in the form of free use of the electric infrastructure at the expense of rate payers who have no say.
Given the 40 plus years of chaos and calamities resulting in the broken promises to get us off oil, a
history of generating false hopes with unjustified expectations to attract funding, a misrepresentation of
facts to impress or obtain elected officials cooperation, and other economic losses, can all be pointed to a government that for 40 years has allowed special interest groups to lead its unwilling citizens down the wrong path through puffing.
Until the legislature understands the technical, finical and historic facts regarding alternative energy, Maine people will continue to be harmed from well-intentioned but misinformed policies.
I opened with Occam’s razor and I would like to close with Hanlon's razor which states ”never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained away by stupidity" .
James C. LaBrecque
Solar does not reduce our dependency on oil
A VOTE AGAINST HYDRO POWER IS A VOTE FOR BIG OIL
OIL TO HEAT MAINE HOMES 02:10 MAKE ELECTRICITY
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Q. :2 ~
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in
http_:/_/wvvw.bloombergcom/news/articles/2011-08-24/lntel~backed-solar-comnanv-files-for-bankruptcv-as-
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W http_:[/www.reuterscom/article/201 1/08/15/us-evergreensolar-idUSTRE77E49320110815
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Comment by Eric A. Tuttle on April 13, 2015 at 6:22pm

I spoke with Senator Davis today in Augusta, on how our Utilities seem to be Public Private Partnerships. Though I did not get a direct Yes or No, he seemed to be in agreement when saying we need to get business out of government and government out of business. 

Comment by Mike DiCenso on April 12, 2015 at 9:14pm

James, thank you for such an effective and concise testimony. I hope the EUT wqs listening and not piddling around with their laptops like some were in previous hearings.

Comment by Eric A. Tuttle on April 12, 2015 at 12:05pm

Conservation costs all ratepayers more. This was shown in the scheme of the Compact Fluorescent give away. Energy conservation through the Giveaway's by the utility companies ended up increasing the industrial rates as well. Decrease the demand, justifies increasing the rates so that they can pay contract obligations to the investors. The PUC of Maine needs to be taken out of the equation of Profit making and sustainability for the energy industry. The PUC was established to Protect the People, not the industries. The industries were market driven and financed by "wisdom" savvy investors. Now we seem to be allowing the PUC to guide and influence how much profit and who the investors will be in each sector of utilities as if "All current and future Business" in Maine is some sort of Public Private Partnership. AKA the "3P law" once again rears its evil head. As we found while working on the EWC threat, 3P is not always a good thing. I am beginning to see how 3P is infiltrating our Utilities in Maine. 

Comment by arthur qwenk on April 12, 2015 at 11:36am

Why is photovoltaic solar not used extensively in "The Sunshine State" for example?

It is not economical of course, just as Lebreque and other educated citizens know.  Natural gas and nuclear are used predominantly for the third most populous state in the nation. Florida Power and Light just lowered electrical  retail consumer costs by  10 percent, and the state is 30 percent lower on average than other state on electrical costs.  The kwh cost delivered will be below 11 cents per kwh.Why? Conservation and efficient  utilization of dense fuels, such as natural gas and nuclear.

It is about time EUT members are forced to read some basic science on density of energy sources versus the "fluff" the wind lobby prognosticates and bribes for . Wind and solar for grid scale use at this time in history are nothing more than highly expensive  feel good boutique politically  correct low density farces. 

Energy rich Maine should not be in the mess it is in from electrical costs. Ignorant and self-serving politicians such as Pingree , Angus King et al  are ruining the place for its citizenry unless science is used to formulate energy policy there. 

Comment by Eric A. Tuttle on April 12, 2015 at 10:15am
Jackson Lab's David E. Shaw Background and experience
 
 
D. E. Shaw & Co., L.P. is a global investment management firm founded in 1988 by David E. Shaw and based in New York City.[2] The firm has offices in Hong Kong, India, Shanghai and Tokyo. The company has made investments in technology, wind power, real estate, and financial services firms. The subsidiaries of the company acquired the toy store FAO Schwarz and eToys.com.
 
  1. David Elliot Shaw is an American computer scientist and computational biochemist who founded D. E. Shaw & Co., a hedge fund company which was once described by Fortune magazine as "the most intriguing and mysterious force on Wall Street." Wikipedia
Comment by Beth O'Connor on April 12, 2015 at 10:12am

He gave that testimony last week and he was awesome. The man has a wonderful way of presenting information that a layman can understand! He has proved in my short tenure on EUT to be a wealth of knowledge!

Comment by Long Islander on April 12, 2015 at 8:45am

Article by owners  SAM ZAITLIN AND KIM KENWAY:

"Cote spoke about how ETS heating systems are both an economical home heating solution for individual Maine families and a way to convert intermittently generated renewable power (wind, wave, solar, tidal) into a stable, secure and local source of power and heat at the grid level".

http://www.pressherald.com/2013/11/09/maine_voices__maine_ceo_honor...

Comment by Long Islander on April 11, 2015 at 9:15pm

Note that the listing of the Jackson Lab's Chairs Emeriti includes David E. Shaw.

http://www.jax.org/leadership/board.html

Jackson Lab is the buyer of Gouldsboro Solar LLC's electricity if the Gideon bill is passed. Is this David E. Shaw who started D.E. Shaw, longtime half owner of First Wind? DE Shae got its start from Chellie Pingree's husband, PPH owner S. Donald Sussman.

Comment by Eric A. Tuttle on April 11, 2015 at 5:43pm

Kinda thought so with the citation markers [1][10][11] 

But his science is correct in his testimony, Solar is expensive for electricity. Solar Thermal for heating would be a better investment of money and relatively inexpensive to create for the return. 

Comment by Donald Moore on April 11, 2015 at 5:26pm
Wikipedia gets the credit, meant to cite source

 

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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