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Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
‘Not good public policy': Bill would roll back some provisions of 2021 transmission line referendum
Maine needs to expand its transmission system in the coming years to meet the needs of increased electrification, while ensuring there is enough clean, affordable energy, said Caroline Colan, the legislative liaison for the Governor's Energy Office. (Photo by) Rep. Chris Kessler voted for the 2021 referendum question that created the requirement for the Maine Legislature to approve any new high-impact transmission lines. 'This referendum was intended to give the public a greater voice in the development of major transmission lines,' Kessler said of the ballot question that drew passionate grassroots support and overcame over $60 million in opposition spending fueled mostly by international energy companies. Since casting that vote, the Democrat from South Portland said he has had a change of heart and no longer believes it is good public policy, as he told the Legislature's Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee Tuesday afternoon. That rethinking led Kessler to introduce LD 810 to streamline the approval process without repealing the entire policy born out of the people's vote. The proposal seeks to clarify that when the Legislature asks for a new line to be developed, that line should not need to come back to the Legislature for approval after the review process performed by the Public Utilities Commission. In 2021, Maine voters approved a ballot question that increased legislative oversight on new transmission lines. The question was largely seen as a vehicle to stop the controversial 145-mile transmission line through western Maine known as the New England Clean Energy Connect. Despite the political and legal hurdles, the Central Maine Power corridor project is expected to be completed later this year, Maine Public reported. Rep. Sophie Warren (D-Scarborough) asked Kessler and others who supported the bill to address the fact that the proposal would scale back a policy that was supported by nearly 60% of Maine voters. 'This is not a comfortable position for me to be in,' Kessler said in his testimony, but the policy has created unintended consequences. 'It may be an unpopular position to have but I think it's not good public policy,' he added. While Kessler argued the Legislature lacks the technical expertise to sign off on the details of a transmission line, representatives from the Office of Public Advocate, Maine State Chamber of Commerce and multiple environmental organizations agreed the duplicative process can deter developers, drive up costs for ratepayers and stand in the way of meeting climate goals. Several of the groups voiced support for removing the legislative approval requirement entirely. Public Advocate Heather Sanborn said a second round of approval for projects requested by the Legislature is not necessary. 'Such a requirement will have the direct effect of costing ratepayers additional money by introducing additional risk and delay that must be priced into the modeled costs of the project from the beginning,' she added. Maine needs to expand its transmission system in the coming years to meet the needs of increased electrification, while ensuring there is enough clean, affordable energy, said Caroline Colan, the legislative liaison for the Governor's Energy Office. Colan testified neither for nor against the legislation, but she echoed what others said about it adding financial risk and driving up developer bids, which ultimately fall on Maine ratepayers. The Maine Public Utilities Commission is responsible for conducting a thorough review process for petitions from developers to construct new transmission lines capable of 69 kilovolts or more, as required by state law. The petition needs to include information about why the line is needed, why it should be built along that particular route and how it will affect public health, safety, as well as the scenery and environment, among other considerations. The commission holds a public hearing as part of the petition process and is tasked with determining whether the new line is needed. Because of the 2021 referendum, in addition to that process, the Legislature must give its approval of the project. However, Kessler pointed out what he sees as a flaw in the referendum language, which does not specify when in the process legislative approval should occur. Opposing the change, Tanya Blanchard, founder of Preserve Rural Maine, argued that if the Legislature is knowledgeable enough to propose a transmission line, it should be able to approve one. Blanchard founded the group in the summer of 2023 in response to a proposed transmission line through more than 40 rural communities. She fears that bypassing the legislative review could not only weaken public trust, but also lead to projects being approved without fully considering the effects on local people, wildlife and natural beauty. The intention is not to stop transmission lines, but 'get them right the first time,' Blanchard said. Legislature approval can provide that assurance, she added. Kessler's bill was one of four that the committee heard Tuesday related to transmission lines in the state. LD 596 sponsored by Sen. Mark Lawrence (D-York) would provide a vehicle for the Legislature to consider the construction and operation of a transmission line to connect renewable energy resources in northern Maine with the regional electric grid. While it does not give preemptive approval, the bill serves as a placeholder in case the Public Utilities Commission moves forward with soliciting new bids for the renewable energy project and transmission line in northern Maine. The Legislature passed a law in 2021 calling for this project, but would still need to sign off. The commission selected bids for a wind farm and transmission line in early 2023, but those contracts were later terminated due to delays and other changes that increased the costs of the projects. Sen. Scott Cyrway (R-Kennebec) introduced LD 197 to direct the Governor's Energy Office to study the state's future electric transmission infrastructure needs with a report on the findings to be submitted by September 2026. Colan testified neither for nor against the bill, but said the office is already working on a 'thoughtful, comprehensive, forward-looking strategy to address the full range of long-term transmission-level needs expected in Maine.' The bill from Sen. Joseph Martin (R-Oxford), LD 469, would require that 50% of electricity carried on any new lines originating in Canada would need to be consumed in Maine. It would also require a variety of reports and efforts to reduce costs amid increased electricity consumption. While the committee raised a number of technical questions about the bill, Martin said the intention is to control the supply and demand to benefit Maine ratepayers. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Maine's 'energy economy' grows as Trump cuts loom over zero-carbon power
Mar. 7—Maine's "clean energy economy," which encompasses jobs and business activities advancing carbon-free energy, expanded faster in 2023 than the state's economy overall, benefiting from Biden administration funding that's now in President Donald Trump's crosshairs. A broad array of economic enterprises such as solar, wind and hydropower; geothermal generation; smart grid technology to manage electricity; lithium and other batteries; energy efficiency and electric vehicles comprise the clean energy economy, which grew to nearly $2.9 billion in 2023, or 3.2% of the state's economy. It's up from 2.7% the previous year, according to the 2024 Maine Clean Energy Report, commissioned by the Governor's Energy Office. The report cited federal spending of about $800 million in energy infrastructure in Maine made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law enacted several years ago by a Democratic-run Congress and then-President Joe Biden. Money from Washington is now at risk, as Trump promises to drill for oil and natural gas while ending funding for zero-carbon energy such as wind power, though policies already in place may limit federally-imposed reversals, the report said. "While some impact from uncertainty over federal energy policy and priorities may be observed in the coming years, the state's numerous financial awards, commitments to clean energy and strong policy and incentive environment are expected to continue to fuel job growth," said the report. Gov. Janet Mills has made a priority of boosting electric heat pump use and expanding electric vehicle charging stations. Still, Maine remains the most dependent on home heating fuel in the U.S., and more than half of electricity produced in New England is generated using natural gas. Maine spends more than $4.5 billion on imported fossil fuels each year, including gasoline and heating oil, with combustion contributing to climate change, which is causing more frequent and extreme storms, the Maine Energy Plan reported in January. Last year was the warmest on record, it said. The clean energy sector's contribution to Maine's economy increased by about $500 million from 2022 to 2023, up 20%. The state economy overall grew by 7.2% over the last year, the report said. Maine added 542 clean energy jobs from 2022 to 2023, reaching nearly 15,600, or about 2.4% of the state's labor force. Energy efficiency comprised the largest share of the state's clean energy economy, accounting for 58% of the jobs. Renewable electric power generation was next, representing 20%. Solar energy employment gained the most in the clean energy economy over the last year, adding 117 jobs, representing a 13.5% growth rate. But growth in Maine's alternative transportation sector, or electric vehicles, is slower than in other Northeastern states, with the slowest growth in hybrid electric and electric vehicles, the report said. Employment in hybrid electric vehicles grew by just 0.5% in Maine from 2022 to 2023; the second-lowest growth rate was in Vermont at 3.7%. EV employment growth in Maine also was minimal, at 1.5%. But more EVs were on the road in Maine: Light-duty vehicle registrations for EVs rose to 7,400 in 2023 from 5,000 a year earlier, an increase of 48%. And registrations for hybrid EVs increased from 28,900 to 33,600, a 16% increase. Copy the Story Link
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Legislature to again weigh whether clean energy subsidies are helping or harming Maine ratepayers
Solar panels in Damariscotta, Maine. (Photo by Evan Houk/ Maine Morning Star) Republican lawmakers are seeking once again to repeal a utility program that they say is not only unnecessary for achieving climate goals, but is contributing to higher energy costs for Mainers. 'It seems that if we are trying to save the environment, which seems to be my colleagues' on the other side of the aisle's argument, there are better ways to do it,' said Senate Minority Leader Trey Stewart (R-Aroostook) at a press conference Tuesday. Stewart was referring to net energy billing, a utility program designed to encourage customers to develop or participate in small-scale renewable energy projects like solar panels by offering credits to offset their electricity bills. The program's supporters see it as a tool to transition the state to clean energy that has been a scapegoat for rising energy costs. But critics argue that it's already achieved the desired environmental goals and is now just a flawed system driving up bills. In 2023, Gov. Janet Mills set a goal for Maine to reach 100% clean electricity by 2040. While that largely hinges on the state's ability to develop offshore wind in the Gulf of Maine, a recent report from the Governor's Energy Office showed that most of Maine's clean electricity needs in 2040 can be met with the state's current and planned renewable energy resources. This includes the roughly 800 megawatts of solar, hydropower and wind generated through net energy billing projects. Net energy billing has been modified multiple times since the program expanded in 2019, but the pros and cons are set to be weighed once again by the Legislature's Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee. A public hearing on two proposals to repeal net energy billing was slated for Thursday but postponed due to inclement weather. The cost of solar: rate increases, political feuds and the long-term outlook Stewart sponsored one of the bills, LD 257, while Sen. Stacey Guerin (R-Penobscot) put forth LD 32. Both seek to repeal the laws giving the Public Utilities Commission the authority to establish a net energy billing program, as well as certain related tax exemptions. It also prohibits the commission from adopting rules that would require a utility company to allow customers to participate in net energy billing. Proponents of net energy billing often highlight how the program has led to more rooftop solar and other small scale projects while its benefits and their associated savings aren't spelled out on people's power bills. However, the bills' sponsors and many of their Republican colleagues say it has only shifted costs to low-income households and driven up energy prices, even claiming it has forced businesses to close. Republicans have also said Democrats are to blame for utility rate increases, arguing that the law passed by their party's majority leaves ratepayers subsidizing the clean energy transition. But there are other factors driving up electricity prices. customers have also been picking up the tab for power restoration efforts after extreme weather events and the spike in natural gas prices from global events such as Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Information from the Governor's Energy Office underscored the role natural gas plays in the recent volatility of electricity prices. Since half of all electricity used in New England is generated using natural gas, it is the primary driver of the market price, according to the office. Net energy billing, or Maine's version of net metering, had been the target of former Republican Gov. Paul LePage, who vetoed several legislative efforts to incentivize the proliferation of cleaner energy. It was expanded in 2019 under Mills so that customers can use renewable generators located outside of their property but within the same utility service territory, such as a community solar project. Legislation passed two years later added a goal of 750 megawatts of distributed generation through net energy billing. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX There are two programs within net energy billing. First is the kilowatt hour program, which is open to all customers and provides kilowatt hour credits on a participating customers' bill if they install renewable energy generators such as solar panels on their house or join a community solar project, where customers sign up with the owner of the solar farm to receive a portion of the credits. The credits expire after 12 months. The tariff rate program for nonresidential customers provides dollar credits for those who use their own projects or share in someone else's. The Public Utilities Commission sets an annual rate for the credits, which also expire after 12 months, depending on the customer's size and utility provider. Lindsay Bourgoine, director of policy and government affairs for Revision Energy, explained that the system provides a mechanism to compensate those who generate their own energy, which gets fed back into the grid. In a presentation to the energy committee last month, the Public Utilities Commission shared that the net energy billing program has about $130 million in costs, but $160 million in direct or non-monetized benefits. Net energy billing projects sometimes pay for grid upgrades or help reduce the load on the grid during peak hours, which can help avoid costs for other customers. During the Tuesday press conference, Guerin argued that net energy billing, sometimes referred to as NEB, shifts the cost of developing renewable energy sources onto the customers who don't even use it. 'The cost increases with NEB disproportionately hurt low-income households who can't afford solar panels,' Guerin said, speaking to the fact that the funds for the credits comes from payments made by other utility customers. 'They are subsidizing the cost of wealthier homeowners while paying the sixth highest rates in the nation.' A report from the citizen-led Electric Ratepayer Advisory Council at the end of last year showed that about 100,000 households in the state are struggling to pay their energy bills with electricity rates in Maine twice the national average. Additionally, Stewart said that if the goal of the program was to incentivize solar, Maine has done that, so it doesn't 'need to pay for this failed program year after year.' The two branches of the net energy billing program have more than 110,000 participants and have created nearly 1,200 megawatts in total operational capacity, which is enough to power more than 200,000 homes, according to a recent presentation by the Public Utilities Commission to the energy committee. A cost and benefit analysis commissioned by the PUC released in April 2023 showed that net energy billing could cost Maine ratepayers $220 million per year starting in 2025. However, that same report also found that the economic benefits of net energy billing solar outweigh the costs of the program. Specifically, the analysis found that for every dollar spent on the program, ratepayers received $1.29 in benefits. Net energy billing accounts for 4% or roughly $7 of a person's energy bill, according to testimony submitted by the Natural Resources Council of Maine in opposition to the bills. And while the program's costs are part of a line item on a household's power bill, the benefits aren't, said Jack Shapiro, climate and clean energy director for the NRCM. Those benefits could include more clean energy, reduced demand for fossil fuels, less reliance on the regional grid and other downstream savings. Stewart said there is a right way and a wrong way to do renewable energy and Maine happens to have 'the worst model in the country for how to do renewables.' Instead, he would like the state to explore other options that he said wouldn't impact ratepayers as directly. Specifically, he'd like to see the Public Utilities Commission leverage more competitive bidding to bring down costs. Also, rather than prioritize solar and wind development, Stewart said hydro and nuclear power could be better options because they have more opportunity for competitive rates. Per the current net energy billing statute, the Public Utilities Commission annually establishes the rates that determine how much of a credit a customer receives under the tariff rate program. However, Shapiro said the proposed legislation doesn't take into account the ramifications of repealing net energy billing for the other 110,000-plus participants who use it, including schools that invested in installing large solar arrays. He argues that repealing the program won't have the cost-saving benefits Republicans say it will. If net energy billing were to be repealed, he said, the question becomes, 'What comes next?' Bourgoine with Revision Energy said if the program were eliminated those customers 'would overnight be left without a way to be fairly compensated for the energy they produce.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Maine Republican legislators write Trump asking for further action to stop offshore wind
Signs on the approch road to Sears Island in upper Penobscot Bay opposing the proposed construction of an assembly and maintenance facility for floating wind turbines on the island. July 22, 2024. Photo: Jim Neuger Maine Republican legislators wrote a letter to President Donald Trump thanking him for his recent action on offshore wind and asking him to take it a step further. The letter sent Thursday was authored by Rep. Reagan Paul (R-Winterport). Offshore wind was a key issue for Paul in her reelection campaign last year after the state announced its hopes to build a port in her district to support its larger goals to develop 3,000 megawatts of offshore wind in the Gulf of Maine by 2040. 'Common sense, economics and environmental concerns are against the offshore wind projects proposed by Democrats for the Gulf of Maine,' Paul said in a news release Thursday, noting her appreciation for Trump's swift action on the matter. She went on to say that she and her Republican legislative colleagues 'are asking his administration to finish the job before irrevocable harm is inflicted on marine wildlife, coastal communities and our quality of life.' On the first day of Trump's administration, he issued an executive order for a temporary halt in new or renewed offshore wind leases in all areas of the outer continental shelf. It also included a review of the federal government's leasing and permitting process for existing wind projects. Maine Republicans are asking Trump and incoming Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to take the order one step further by revoking the existing leases and permits in the Gulf of Maine. The letter is referring to the four lease areas auctioned off in October, as well as the lease for a research array the state was awarded earlier last year. 'Taking this action would demonstrate a continued commitment to protecting coastal economics, navigation safety, national security, and environmental integrity,' the letter states. The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the agency within the U.S. Department of Interior responsible for managing energy resources on the outer shelf, has outlined eight lease areas off the coast of Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Republicans also said that offshore wind puts Maine's fishing industry at risk. The current lease areas avoid the vital fishing area known as Lobster Management Area 1, and Democratic U.S. Rep. Jared Golden introduced legislation last week to codify those protections into federal law. As Maine has set clean energy and climate goals, developing offshore wind as a power source has been at the crux of meeting those ambitions. The Governor's Energy Office recently released a technical report showing that while it is possible to meet the state's goal of 100% clean energy by 2040, wind and solar are key components of meeting increased electrification demands from plug-in cars and heating options. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
