Citizens' Task Force on Wind Power - Maine

The impact of the RGGI "Carbon Tax" is upending the electric market

"The estimated RGGI costs for generators of all fuel types increased slightly over the period. RGGI allowance prices increased by 0.7% in 2023 (from $13.48/short ton in 2022 to $13.57/short ton in 2023). For a typical natural gas-fired generator the average estimated CO2 cost was $6.19/MWh in 2023, a modest increase of just $0.04/MWh from 2022." (quote from ISO-NE 2023 annual market report).

So far, the average RGGI allowance price in 2024 is $20.93/short ton which translates to a C02 cost of $9.55/MWh which translates to 9.4% of supply costs is carbon tax. Compare this cost to Maine sales tax of 5.5% or average Maine property tax of 2.2% and this RGGI tax is now the most consumer burdensome tariff imposed on citizens.

So, the $236 million dollars Maine ratepayers have paid so far in carbon tax is transferred to Efficiency Maine Trust (EMT) who expends much of it on heat pump rebates, EV rebates and EV charging stations, thus increasing electricity use which is increasing carbon tax rates and reliability costs. The ever upward spiraling of energy costs goes on unbroken.

So, natural gas even with this carbon tax, is able to keep production prices low enough to set the auction supply prices in the ISO-NE market with all generators receiving the auction price set. Auction price is set every five minutes.

So, with all generators receiving the "marginal price" set by auction, the carbon tax gets baked into the rate base every time natural gas sets the auction price which is the majority of time and generators not required to attach the "carbon tax" assessment to production costs, nevertheless, receives the windfall, all the while EMT rebates bloat the cost of heat pumps, EVs and EV charging stations.

So, on top of paying a "carbon tax" directly through the supply portion of the monthly electric bill and through the artificially rising costs of efficient space heaters, the artificially rising costs of EVs and associated devices and the reliability costs derived from the need to produce more electricity; the "carbon tax" is rewarding wind, solar and battery storage and all generators which do not burn fossil fuels, as if they are not subsidized enough.

Trump offers to slash energy costs in half, which is doable by eliminating the favoritism of applying ratepayer/taxpayer money to non-fossil fuel generators along with the elimination of the " RGGI Carbon Tax" A fair and level marketplace is all that is required.

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Comment by Willem Post on November 23, 2024 at 6:57am: Ending all subsidies to all industries will evaporate a mindset crippling economic growth, and will delete jobs in tax shelter business on Wall Street, Congressional huckstering, State government huckstering, those wrangling for subsidies, and reduce mountains of man hour and money consuming paperwork and studies

That entire infrastructure will collapse, including the CO2 hoax, that degenerated into a worldwide scam

Comment by Dan McKay on November 22, 2024 at 10:48am: While we're talking taxes, the REC/ACP is another 10% tax on electric bills.

Comment by Willem Post on November 20, 2024 at 8:45pm: Ending subsidies means tens of thousands of Democrat bureaucrats will be out of business

Comment by arthur qwenk on November 20, 2024 at 5:55pm: Motto of the story...END SUBSIDIES. Technologies Must Compete. The Pseudo-Science based Global CO2 NARRATIVE of WARMING is ENDING!

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U.S. Sen Angus King

THE UNTOLD STORY OF RECORD HILL WIND

The Untold Story of Record Hill Wind, continued

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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