The sound of Maine pigs having their snoots yanked from the trough
EXCERPTS
Changes to energy tax credits could raise Maine’s electricity costs by 20%
Congress is weighing the early termination of handful of tax credits related to installing solar panels, shifting to electric vehicles and building more energy efficient homes.
Daniel Kool Staff Writer
Federal lawmakers are contemplating changes to energy tax credits that would likely raise energy and electricity costs for Mainers and stall growth in the state’s expanding renewable energy economy, analysts and industry players say.
Among hundreds of provisions in the 1,000-plus page budget bill approved by the House of Representatives are new, and much more sudden, sunsetting timelines for a bundle of energy credits related to installing solar panels, purchasing and supporting electric vehicles and developing more energy efficient homes. Programs that in January seemed to have years of life ahead of them now face termination in just a few months.
Those changes face an uncertain future in the Senate, where some Republicans have already voiced opposition to them as written.
Dan Burgess, director of the Governor’s Energy Office, argued they “would lead to increased energy costs for Maine people, prevent investments in our state’s aging and vulnerable energy infrastructure, and threaten thousands of jobs across Maine in fast-growing clean energy fields......................................
“That’s very concerning,” Dan Clapp, CEO of ReVision Energy, said. “If these (credits) are going away, they have to be responsibly phased down, based on project cycles. You know, businesses need certainty to plan around..............................................”
Sam Zuckerman, owner of Maine Solar Solutions, said that while some people appreciate the environmental benefits of installing a solar system, the majority of his residential customers are drawn in by the promise in of cheaper electricity and more consistent utility costs...............................
In Cape Neddick, the nonprofit Center for Wildlife is in the process of installing a solar array capable of powering its entire operation. Though the project was paid for by an outside donor, nearly a third of its cost will be refunded by the federal government.
Executive Director Kristen Lamb said that credit was an essential part of the calculation, and it marked the first time in center’s nearly four-decade history that it has received federal funding support. She declined to state the project’s total cost but said it is expected to save the center about $21,000 per year in electricity costs...............................................
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Comment by Willem Post 21 hours ago
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They thrived on federal and state subsidies, and state mandates, requiring utilities to buy high cost/kWh solar electricity, which benefitted system owners, but screwed all others, already for decades.
It is long overdue to put an end to all state subsidies, including offshore floating windmills, the mother of all financial follies.
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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