Angus King Introduces the Renewable Electricity Standard Act

By Michelle Froese | June 26, 2019

Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) and others have introduced the Renewable Electricity Standard Act of 2019 — a bill that would more than double the supply of renewable energy in the U.S. from 18% of electricity generation in 2018 to at least 50% by 2035.

Starting in 2020, the Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) would require electricity providers across the country to increase their supply of renewable energy, from sources such as wind and solar power every year.

The senators who introduced the new Act — which also include U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), and Angus King (I–Maine) — ensured that it meets the recommendations of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on ClimateChange 1.5° C Special Report, which outlines the standards that must be met worldwide to respond to the existential threat of climate change...............................................

The Renewable Electricity Standard Act of 2019 would:

 Create a federal floor-setting standard that requires each retail electricity provider to increase its supply of renewable energy by a percentage of total retail sales each year, starting in 2020.

 Each kilowatt hour of electric energy generated by a new renewable resource will be entitled to a Renewable Electricity Credit (REC), which will be turned in for compliance.  Under limited circumstances, certain existing facilities that increase their generation, repower, or are not being used to meet state RESs or voluntary market demand could also receive RECs.

• Achieves at least 50% electricity from renewables in the U.S. by 2035, roughly double business as usual and nearly triple current levels (17.6% in 2018).............................................................

Read the full article here:

https://www.windpowerengineering.com/business-news-projects/introdu...

Mills signs 3 bills to boost renewable energy in Maine

The new laws, effective in September, will reduce emissions and boost solar incentives.

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“Maine is once again proving itself a leader on climate action and showing that climate change is a bipartisan concern that requires urgent action,” Natural Resources Council of Maine CEO Lisa Pohlmann said. Her group says that investing in clean energy will reduce energy costs, lead to cleaner air and create new jobs.

Mills also signed her bill to launch a Maine Climate Council, whose membership will include representatives of energy and environmental groups, tasked with creating a new Climate Action Plan to detail how Maine will take on climate change. The new Office for Policy Innovation & the Future will come up with ways for state government to boost clean energy.

As Maine joins a growing number of newly Democratic states passing stricter renewable energy standards, Sen. Angus King of Maine, an independent, is backing a bill in Congress to set a national renewable energy standard. That bill would require electricity providers across the nation to generate at least 50 percent of electricity from renewable sources by 2035.

Read the full article here:

https://www.pressherald.com/2019/06/26/gov-mills-to-sign-sweeping-r...

Governor Mills Signs Major Renewable Energy and Climate Change Bills Into Law

June 26, 2019

Mills signing energy and climate change billsSigned legislation establishes in law and will help achieve Governor’s goals of 80 percent renewable energy by 2030 and emissions reductions of 80 percent by 2050

Standing in front of a solar array and joined by lawmakers and renewable energy supporters, Governor Janet Mills today signed into law three major pieces of bipartisan legislation that will help usher in renewable energy in Maine, create clean energy jobs, and fight climate change.

The bills establish in law the Governor’s proposed Maine Climate Council, which is charged with developing action plans to reduce Maine greenhouse gas emissions by 45 percent by 2030 and 80 percent by 2050; an increase in Maine’s Renewable Portfolio Standard from 40 percent today to 80 percent by 2030 and a goal of 100 renewable energy by 2050; the creation of new incentives for energy-efficient heating; and the institution of new solar incentive programs.

“With the signing of these bills, Maine is ushering in a new era of clean energy and climate leadership,” said Governor Janet Mills. “The Maine Climate Council will develop comprehensive action plans to meet our ambitious emissions reductions goals and the renewable energy legislation will spur clean energy development and investments that will increase production of homegrown, renewable energy and create good paying jobs for the people of Maine. Maine is once-again leading on clean energy.”

The bills signed into law today will significantly increase the amount of renewable energy in Maine, reduce emissions and support clean energy job growth:

LD 1679 An Act To Promote Clean Energy Jobs and To Establish the Ma..., a Governor’s bill sponsored by Senator David Woodsome, will establish the Maine Climate Council that is charged with leading Maine’s efforts to reduce Maine’s Greenhouse Gas emissions by 45 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 and at least 80 percent by 2050. The Council will develop the action plans to meet the state’s greenhouse gas reduction goals, to promote jobs and economic benefits for Maine people in the transition to a lower carbon economy, and to support the climate resiliency of Maine’s communities. Governor Mills proposed establishing the Maine Climate Council in April.

“I am honored to have sponsored LD 1679...it has been in the making for several years and finally found a Champion in Governor Mills,”said Sen. Woodsome, R-York. “There is still much work to be done to make this effort comprehensive and economically effective. I look forward to achieving this goal.”

LD 1494 An Act To Reform Maine's Renewable Portfolio Standard, sponsored by Senator Eloise Vitelli, increases Maine’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) to achieve 80 percent renewable energy by 2030, up from 40 percent today and a goal of 100% by 2050. In addition, the bill requires the Public Utilities Commission to procure long-term contracts for new clean energy generation, which may be paired with advanced energy storage.  LD 1494 also requires the creation of a new thermal portfolio standard to incentivize efficient heating and cooling installations, contains several cost containment mechanisms including a $50 cap on alternative compliance payments, and requires renewable energy policy studies to be conducted in conjunction with other planning efforts. This bill gives Maine one of most ambitious RPS programs in the country.

Mill about the energy and climate bill

“Climate change threatens Maine’s environment and economy. We need to do everything we can to combat its effects, to preserve our state’s critical resources — our mountains, forests and waters — for future generations,” said Sen. Vitelli, D-Arrowsic. “I’m grateful for all the stakeholders who came together and put in the hard work to craft this measure. The update of our renewable portfolio standards provides the needed steps to protect our natural resources while investing in our economy.”

L.D. 1711 An Act To Promote Solar Energy Projects and Distributed G..., sponsored by Senator Dana Dow, will incentivize at least 375 megawatts (MW) of new distributed generation in Maine, which is expected to be primarily solar photovoltaic (PV) development for projects under 5 MW. The bill creates two separate but complimentary incentives, one for commercial and institutional customers and another for community shared projects, with prices that are set competitively and declining in subsequent procurements. The bill also removes the net energy billing account and size cap; requires that community shared projects serve low- and moderate-income customers; encourages development of landfill and brownfield projects and may incentivize the pairing with energy storage. In addition, L.D. 1711 allows for a new net energy billing program with an alternative bill credit for non-residential customers.

“This new law allows medium sized projects like schools and municipalities to get into the solar market and many larger solar companies are excited about the jobs it will create here in Maine,” said Sen. Dow, R-Lincoln.

The bills signed into law today build on several steps taken by Governor Mills to spur renewable energy development and fight climate change, including signing into law bills that will:

Mills and group at energy and climate change signing

Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) require that a specific amount of the electricity sold to consumers come from renewable resources. Twenty-nine states, Washington D.C. and three territories have an RPS. Maine’s RPS is implemented by the Public Utilities Commission and prior to today’s bill signing, required 30 percent of electric load to be satisfied by existing renewable resources (Class II) and 10 percent by new renewable resources (Class I). LD 1494 creates a new Class IA that will require an additional 40 percent of Maine’s electric load be met with new resources in ten years, bringing Maine’s total RPS requirement to 80 percent by 2030.

There is currently a federal tax credit for business and residential solar PV installations, the Investment Tax Credit (ITC), that is 30 percent for projects in 2019, 26 percent for 2020, 22 percent for 2021, and 10 percent for 2022.

The bill signing ceremony was held at the largest solar array in the state, 10 MW solar installation in Pittsfield, Maine that was constructed by Pittsfield Solar, LLC a subsidiary of Cianbro Corporation.

https://www.maine.gov/governor/mills/news/governor-mills-signs-majo...


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Comment by John F. Hussey on June 27, 2019 at 6:59pm

Vaseline was a teaser and I wondered who'd catch it!  Hahahah... We're still going to get screwed!

Comment by Thinklike A. Mountain on June 27, 2019 at 4:14pm

No John, Vaseline is petroleum based so it's of course out of the question.

Comment by John F. Hussey on June 27, 2019 at 3:45pm

Do any of those bills have a provision for Vaseline to ease the screwing we are about to get?

 

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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