Maine Republicans take aim at public advocate nominee Heather Sanborn
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And what about onshore wind?
Maine Republicans take aim at public advocate nominee
GOP lawmakers say they will use Heather Sanborn's confirmation hearing to promote their agenda to limit offshore wind and incentives for solar developers.
December 20, 2024
Stephen Singer
Portland Press Herald
EXCERPTS
Republicans in the state Legislature promised Friday to use confirmation hearings next month to sharply question Gov. Janet Mills’ nominee to represent utility ratepayers before regulators and in court cases.
Heather Sanborn, the nominee for Maine Public Advocate, is a former Democratic state legislator from Portland.
Rep. Reagan Paul, R-Winterport, a member of the Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee, said in the Republicans’ weekly radio address that members of the party plan to take advantage of the hearing to promote their energy policies, which are essentially the opposite of the priorities of most Democrats. GOP committee members will ask “fair, but tough questions” of Sanborn about offshore wind and incentives for solar developers, she said.
Public Advocate William Harwood announced this month that he will retire Jan. 31. He has warned of costs associated with net energy billing, a program that spells out how certain classes of solar developers are paid for the power generated by their projects.
Paul and other Republicans have criticized net energy billing, calling it a costly ratepayer subsidy to out-of-state solar developers. Paul said Sanborn when in the Legislature, voted against eliminating net energy billing.
Mills welcomes legislators’ “full and fair review” of Sanborn, her office wrote in an email. “The governor remains deeply concerned about the high cost of energy and welcomes discussions during the upcoming legislative session about ways the state and region can stabilize and lower energy prices for Maine people. But what she is not interested in doing is doubling down to support the profits of fossil fuel companies that cost Maine people billions of dollars every year and harm their health and our environment.”.................................
.........................Minority Republicans in the Legislature have unsuccessfully tried to influence state energy policy by opposing offshore wind power, policies promoting broader electric vehicle use and incentives to solar developers.
Among the questions Sanborn can expect are whether she’ll “prioritize the green agenda over affordability and reliability for ratepayers,” New England’s high energy costs and if she supports efforts to advance offshore wind that Paul characterized as the “most expensive and destructive form of energy.”...................................
The full article is at https://www.pressherald.com/2024/12/20/maine-republicans-take-aim-a...
Also, from an earlier post on December 5:
Reportedly very smart.
Also reportedly, once upon a time when sitting on the EUT Committee in a former (but related) life ---
"After very thoughtful citizen testimony on a very well written anti-wind visual impact bill, she asked the question:
“ I don’t understand you people who don’t like looking at green energy? When I’m skiing at Sugarloaf with my kids I’m thrilled to see the Kibby turbines. I tell my kids they’re a symbol of what we should be doing. “
Again very smart. One definition of intelligence is the ability to change one's positions when new information is available and/or processed. I guess we shall see.
https://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/former-lawmaker-busine...
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Fair Use Notice: This website may reproduce or have links to copyrighted material the use of which has not been expressly authorized by the copyright owner. We make such material available, without profit, as part of our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, economic, scientific, and related issues. It is our understanding that this constitutes a "fair use" of any such copyrighted material as provided by law. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes that go beyond "fair use," you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
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Comment
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Comment by Thinklike A. Mountain on December 22, 2024 at 10:05am
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War Room’s Steve Bannon, Co-Host Natalie Winters and Raheem Kassam on World Chaos as a Result of the 2020 Election (VIDEO)
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/12/war-rooms-steve-bannon-co-...
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Comment by Dan McKay on December 21, 2024 at 12:32pm
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Here is the radio address by Reprehensive Paul:
House Republicans will again heed the warnings of the outgoing Public Advocate and address the problem of net energy billing and artificially high energy bills
This is Representative of Reagan Paul of Winterport with the Weekly Republican Address.
Last session, legislative Republicans repeatedly proposed legislation that directly lowers electric bills by sharply reducing or eliminating excessive profits generated by artificially high electric bills associated with net energy billing.
Maine’s Public Advocate, William Harwood has been sounding the alarm about addressing the $4 billion in net energy billing costs that consumers will pay over the next 20 years.
We thank him for his advocacy on the issue of net energy billing and his efforts to bring awareness to the problem as it relates to increases on your monthly bill.
Last session, a handful of elected Democrats joined with us in pursuing lower electric bills by addressing some of the most glaring problems.
Sadly powerful out-of-state solar companies, their lobbyists and Democrat allies defeated every attempt at reining in excessive profits and lowering consumer electric bills.
Most recently, Public Advocate Harwood announced that he will step down when his term ends January 31, 2025.
But now, Governor Mills has nominated a former Democrat state legislator from Portland, who served in both the House and Senate, to take his place.
While in the Senate, she voted against eliminating Net Energy Billing, the very program that continues to inflate energy costs.
Maine needs a Public Advocate who understands that their job description is in their job title…to advocate for the public at all times.
This begs the question:
Is the Public Advocate nominee being installed to protect solar company profits?
This session Republicans will again propose to directly lower your energy bills by sharply reducing or eliminating net energy billing profits to out of state solar companies.
Consumers should not have to pay companies .21 cents a kilowatt hour for a product that can cost as little as .05 cents to produce.
We want to know if the Public Advocate’s office will continue to fight for the public.
When the Legislature reconvenes in January, the Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee will hold a confirmation hearing to make a recommendation to the full Senate on the new Public Advocate’s appointment.
Republican committee members will be asking fair, tough questions, including whether or not the new Public Advocate stands with consumers or solar companies?
Will she prioritize the “green agenda” over affordability and reliability for ratepayers?
What are her thoughts on the rolling blackouts that “green energy” states have experienced?
Is she aware of the competitive disadvantage that New England states have attracting and keeping jobs because of high energy costs?
Does she support efforts to move away from the most expensive and destructive form of energy, offshore wind?
These are important questions and we hope we receive real answers.
This has been Representative Reagan Paul with the Weekly Republican Radio Address.
Thank you for listening, subscribing, sharing and following us on Facebook, X, and Instagram.
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If the Republicans are truly serious about changing the current attitude concerning the C02 policies destined for utter failure, they should read the three blogs from Willem Post
https://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/co2-has-a-very-minor-r...
CO2 Has a Very Minor Role in the Atmosphere
https://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/we-are-in-a-co2-famine
We Are in a CO2 Famine
https://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/net-zero-by-2050-is-a-...
Net Zero by 2050 is a Suicide Pact, CO2 ppm is near its lowest level in 600 million years
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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