SCAM: Legislation Would Help Create Power Line For Renewable Energy Made In Aroostook County

Maine Public | By Fred Bever
Published May 18, 2021 at 4:03 PM EDT

There was early momentum Tuesday for what could be Maine's next big transmission project linked to renewable energy goals, this one in Aroostook County. The latest plan, as envisioned in legislation before the utilities committee, got a positive review at the State House.

Energy analysts say the County has some of the state's best potential for developing cost-effective wind and other renewable energy resources. But the area lacks a major transmission connection to the regional electricity grid, relying instead on energy routed through Canada.

Now lawmakers are considering a bill that aims to get a power line built to unlock that potential and bring cost-effective renewable energy to Maine and beyond.

"Aroostook County is really leaning into this. We've been waiting for decades to produce our renewable energy up here and get it to the markets where it's needed," says Paul Towle, president of the Aroostook Partnership, a public-private economic development group.

He says county residents are generally supportive of developing big energy infrastructure. And he says this one — costing as much as a half-billion dollars — would be less contentious than the New England Clean Energy Connect transmission line in western Maine.

"This would fly through pretty seamlessly in my prediction. The ensuing projects promise to generate millions in economic benefits to a much-needed area in northern Maine through jobs, payroll taxes, local taxes, etc. And climate advantages obviously (are) there — we all know what we're doing this stuff for," he says.

Towle was one of dozens of area residents, renewable energy developers and others supporting the measure in a Utilities Committee hearing.

Introduced by Senate President Troy Jackson — of Aroostook County — the bill would order state regulators to solicit bids to build the transmission line, as well as bids for developing wind, solar and biomass energy to supply its wires with renewable energy.

Tony Buxton, an energy attorney who represents Clearway Energy, says after years of rising demand, renewable generation developers are looking for creative ways to finance a high-capacity Aroostook County transmission line.

"The moment of opportunity is now. The Biden infrastructure plan is proposing a 30% investment tax credit for transmission rather than something for solar and wind and so on. And that would reduce the cost of any transmission line equivalent to tax-exempt financing," he says.

Buxton estimates that typical ratepayers in Central Maine Power or Versant's territory might pay an additional 70 cents a month on their utility bills to pay off construction costs.

Regulators, he says, would have to weigh that against potential savings from the influx of renewable energy, at a time when it's in high demand as governments try to end reliance on fossil fuels.

"There's no cheaper power in Maine than the power that will come out of Aroostook county wind projects. Anywhere," he says.

Buxton says Maine should try to hold onto that value for its ratepayers.

The administration of Gov. Janet Mills, though, says lawmakers should consider ways that the project might be geared to a more regionalized clean-energy effort, which would allow costs to be spread among ratepayers throughout New England.

And Melissa Winne, an analyst in the Governor's Energy Office, also raised concerns that as written the bill might give too much emphasis on procuring biomass energy generation.

"Given the other components for consideration, including cost-effective, meeting the statutory energy and climate goals and economic benefits to northern Maine, we have some questions about this additional technology requirement. We do support a fully competitive bid process that will allow the greatest benefits to Maine people," Winne says.

There was no testimony against the measure — that's unusual for a major energy project being proposed in Maine.

https://www.mainepublic.org/environment-and-outdoors/2021-05-18/leg...

New legislation looks to take advantage of renewable energy in nort...  

AUGUSTA, Maine – Maine’s Senate President Troy Jackson, D- Allagash, began a public hearing in the Legislature’s Committee on Energy, Utilities, and Technology Tuesday morning with a call to action.

“I believe it is critical that we take action and seize this economic and environmental opportunity,” he said.

Jackson spoke of an opportunity to capitalize on renewable energy resources in his home district in Aroostook County. On Tuesday, Jackson introduced L.D. 1710, An Act To Require Prompt and Effective Use of the Renewable Energy Resources of Northern Maine.

“We’re all Mainers and what’s good for one part of Maine is good for all of Maine,” he said.

The bill would establish the Northern Maine Renewable Energy Development Program, to be administered by the Maine Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to remove obstacles to the use of and promote the development of renewable energy resources in northern Maine.

The program would build a transmission line to connect northern Maine to the ISO-New England system.

According to the bill, the PUC is required to come to a contractual agreement with one or more transmission and distribution utilities for the construction of the transmission line or lines.

On Tuesday, Jackson’s introduction of the bill was followed by several hours of public testimony. No one testified against the proposed legislation.

“Northern Maine, I’ve always argued, has been in a recession or a depression for perhaps 50 years or more,” committee chairman Sen. Mark Lawerence, D-Eliot, said.

Lawerence said that including the northern part of the state in future economic, energy, and technology plans is one of his priorities for the committee this session.

Paul Towle, the president of the Aroostook Partnership, testified that the project is one of the largest economic opportunities ever in his region.

“We’ve been waiting for decades for an opportunity to produce our renewable energy up here and get it to the markets where it’s needed,” he said.

Anthony Hourihan of Irving Woodland said many renewable energy projects are ready to break ground, but argued it does not make financial or logistical sense for one individual project to construct its own transmission line.

The most efficient method, he and others said, would have all renewable energy projects and utilities use the transmission line proposed in the legislation.

Anthony Buxton of Clearway Energy said Aroostook County is the best onshore wind resource available “to Maine, and frankly to New England.”

“There is no cheaper power in Maine that will come out of Aroostook County wind projects, anywhere. [Renewable energy is a] great resource in Aroostook County, we just can’t get it out,” he said.

Continue reading at:

https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2021/05/19/new-legislation-looks-to...

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Comment by Willem Post on May 19, 2021 at 11:30am

HIGH COSTS OF WIND, SOLAR, AND BATTERY SYSTEMS IN NEW ENGLAND

https://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/high-costs-of-wind-sol...

 

The turnkey capital cost to implement the Vermont Comprehensive Energy Plan, CEP, would be in excess of $1.0 billion/y for at least 33 years (2017 - 2050), according to a 2015 Energy Action Network annual report. If updated to 2021, the numbers would be about $1.25 billion/y for 29 years (2021 - 2050). See URLs.

 

http://eanvt.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/EAN-2015-Annual-Report-... 

https://outside.vermont.gov/sov/webservices/Shared%20Documents/2016...

 

Spending on government energy programs, including Efficiency Vermont, has averaged about $210 million/y from 2000 to 2015, a total of at least $2.5 billion, but Vermont CO2 emissions increased from 9.64 million metric ton in 2000, to 9.54 MMt in 2015, a decrease of 1.0%.

https://dec.vermont.gov/sites/dec/files/aqc/climate-change/document... 

 

That means, on average, these RE programs:

 

- Have been expensive failures for 15 years

- Led to higher energy prices, and higher other prices, than they would have been without those wasteful programs.

http://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/vermont-is-going-to-hel...

 

Giving the same RE folks six times as much money per year, to implement the CEP, per mandate of the unconstitutional GWSA, would be very far beyond rational.

 

Advice: When stuck in a pit, it is best to stop digging, and find something better to do, such as energy-efficiency buildings, which would reduce CO2 at low cost per metric ton, for many decades See Appendix.

https://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/electric-bus-systems-l...

 

Vermont’s CO2 is about the size of a dot at the end of a sentence. See Image and URL

https://wattsupwiththat.com/2021/04/16/eia-u-s-co2-emissions-declin...

 

World 2021 Annual Energy Report

https://privatebank.jpmorgan.com/content/dam/jpm-wm-aem/global/pb/e...

  

Warren Buffett Riding the Subsidy Gravy Train

 

Quote: "I will do anything that is basically covered by the law to reduce Berkshire's tax rate, for example, on wind energy, we get a tax credit if we build a lot of wind farms. That's the only reason to build them. They don't make sense without the tax credit." 

https://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/nancy-pfotenhauer/2014/05/12/e...

 

Green Mountain Power, GMP, Riding the Subsidy Gravy Train

 

Vermont utilities buy about 1.4 million MWh/y of hydro power, at 5.7 c/kWh, under a 20-y contract, from Hydro Quebec. The HQ electricity is not variable, not intermittent and does not cause midday solar bulges

 

GMP, a Canadian company, refuses to buy more hydro electricity from HQ, because that electricity would just be a “pass-through”, on which GMP would make minimal profit. HQ has plenty of electricity and is eager to sell it. This approach requires no subsidies!!

 

Instead, GMP wants to invest in heavily subsidized utility-scale solar/battery system combos, and spread them all over Vermont, as part of its very expensive “micro-grid” strategy. The combos are much more profitable for GMP, than buying more electricity from HQ. However, combos would lead to significantly increasing electricity costs for Vermonters.

 

The cash value of the subsidies, about 45% of the turnkey cost of the GMP investments, is recovered by GMP in the first 5 years, i.e., skimming the fat off the milk for GMP, and increased costs for ratepayers and taxpayers.

 

Solar/battery combos come with subsidies:

 

1) Grants from various sources, such as the VT Clean Energy Development Fund

2) 26% federal investment tax credits, plus state FITs. Tax credits reduce, dollar-for-dollar, the taxes GMP paid on profits

3) 100% depreciation over 5 years; the normal for utilities is 20 to 25 years. Write-offs reduce GMP taxable income

4) Deductions of interest on borrowed money. Interest deductions reduce GMP taxable income. See URL

https://solarplusllc.com/macrs-and-bonus-depreciation/

 

 

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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