Which is it Maine - Do you want higher or lower cost electricity? - It's one or the other.

Maine Economic Growth Council cites energy costs as an obstacle to Maine’s economic growth

The Council’s “2010 Measures of Growth in Focus annual economic report”, released February 25, 2010 list energy costs as a problem for Maine:

“The most recent data for 2007 shows the average retail price of electricity in Maine was at $42.77/million

British thermal units (Btu.) This was almost 60% higher than the average U.S. price of $26.84/million Btu.

The price gap between Maine and the nation has widened since 1990 when the difference was 16%.

Businesses, particularly manufacturers, weigh the cost of energy heavily when making decisions to locate and expand. This puts Maine and the region at a competitive disadvantage relative to the nation and to the north in Canada as Maine Utilities’ prices are anywhere from 25% to 65% higher than Hydro Quebec and New Brunswick Power electric prices.

“Reigning in energy costs is very important for an energy dependent state like Maine,” said Speaker of the House Hannah Pingree. “By increasing the mix of renewable generation and increasing efficiency in our homes and businesses, Maine can take control of our energy future”.

http://www.mdf.org/press-releases/Maine-Economic-Growth-Council-pre...

While it is agreed that Maine’s electricity prices are already sky high, one has to wonder which forms of renewable energy the Council and Hannah Pingree would suggest. Unfortunately, these days in Maine, renewable energy is often code for the W word.

If the state infers from this report that wind power is a solution to reduce electricity costs and spur economic growth, it is suggested that they take a look at the European experience, where the exact opposite effect has been experienced:

Subsidizing renewable energy in the U.S. may destroy two jobs for every one created if Spain’s experience with windmills and solar farms is any guide.

For every new position that depends on energy price supports, at least 2.2 jobs in other industries will disappear, according to a study from King Juan Carlos University in Madrid.

U.S. President Barack Obama’s 2010 budget proposal contains about $20 billion in tax incentives for clean-energy programs. In Spain, where wind turbines provided 11 percent of power demand last year, generators earn rates as much as 11 times more for renewable energy compared with burning fossil fuels.

The premiums paid for solar, biomass, wave and wind power - - which are charged to consumers in their bills -- translated into a $774,000 cost for each Spanish “green job” created since 2000, said Gabriel Calzada, an economics professor at the university and author of the report.

“The loss of jobs could be greater if you account for the amount of lost industry that moves out of the country due to higher energy prices,” he said in an interview.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a2PHwqAs...

Also see:

Groundbreaking Study Puts Real-World Numbers Behind The Promise of "Green Jobs"

http://www.westernroundtable.net/mail/util.cfm?gpiv=2100037119.3022...

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Comment by Joanne Moore on February 27, 2010 at 2:55pm
To Pingree and all her neo-yup generation of "technology at any price" pals:

That's right, Maine, lure businesses here by charging HIGHER utility rates. WTF?

Seriously, higher electricity bills will kill a lot of small business in Maine, many of whom are just barely hanging on now.

 

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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Sign up today and lend your voice and presence to the steadily rising tide that will soon sweep the scourge of useless and wretched turbines from our beloved Maine countryside. For many of us, our little pieces of paradise have been hard won. Did the carpetbaggers think they could simply steal them from us?

We have the facts on our side. We have the truth on our side. All we need now is YOU.

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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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