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Boston Globe
28-05-2025
- Boston Globe
How an $18 pillow led to the recovery of a $2 million stolen Dutch painting
Schorer had flown from Brussels the day before with the painting he now carried in his hands, a winter scene by the acclaimed Dutch Golden Age artist Hendrick Avercamp. The artwork was stolen nearly half a century earlier in a sensational 1978 heist from the baronial estate of Helen and Robert Stoddard, a Worcester industrialist. The Avercamp picture, along with numerous other paintings and other valuables taken from the home that night, had not been seen since. Local officials were stumped. So was the FBI. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up But Schorer had thought to look where others did not. Advertisement Inside the museum, members of the Stoddard family and museum staff greeted Schorer, who apologized for being late. As they gathered around, he and a conservator carefully unwrapped the package, revealing the aged but unscathed picture of Dutch figures skating in winter. 'It was nirvana,' Warren Fletcher, a nephew of the Stoddards, said of the moment. 'There's not a snowball's chance in hell this painting will show up, but through a combination of serendipitous circumstances, it did.' Advertisement Dutch artist Hendrick Avercamp's winter scene, stolen in 1978, arrived earlier this month at the Worcester Art Museum. Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff The Avercamp originally disappeared the night of June 22, 1978, when thieves broke into the 36-acre Stoddard estate, hacking open sofa cushions to cart away valuable works by Camille Pissarro, J.M.W. Turner, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir, among others. The theft has been largely forgotten since, overshadowed by notorious art heists such as the 1990 But the Stoddard theft — the largest art heist in the city's history — was equally chilling. That night, with Helen undergoing cancer treatment at a Boston hospital, Robert turned in just before midnight. The industrialist, he'd run a metal forging enterprise, was chairman of the Worcester Telegram and Gazette Inc., and a founder the anti-Communist John Birch Society, was sound asleep when thieves broke in through the sunporch. The burglars ransacked the home, rifling through drawers and closets. They drank the couple's liquor and ate food from the fridge, according to later news reports. They made their way through each room, snatching paintings from the walls and pocketing collectibles including miniature carvings, silver tea sets, watches, and valuable music boxes. When Stoddard awoke the next morning, he realized the house had been robbed when he found his glasses on the floor. The couple's bedroom dressers had been raided, their closets opened, and, ominously, a thief had left a poker from the downstairs fireplace by his bedside. All told, the thieves stole nine paintings, which today would be worth millions. (Schorer estimated the Avercamp, valued at $65,000 at the time of the theft, could today bring upward of $2 million.) Advertisement Investigators conducted a wide-ranging investigation, but no one was ever arrested, and the crime remains unsolved. 'We never had a suspect,' Ralph E. Doyle, a retired Detective Sgt. with the Worcester Police Department, told the Telegram & Gazette in 2000. That's not to say there haven't been breakthroughs. The most valuable work in the Stoddard's collection, Pissarro's 1902 oil on canvas, 'Bassins Duquesne et Berrigny à Dieppe, temps gris,' surfaced at a Cleveland auction house in 1998. The painting, which reportedly wasn't listed in a stolen art database the auction house consulted, was set to be the sale's premier lot. But the auction stalled when the Impressionist's great grandson, art historian Joachim Pissarro, informed a potential buyer the painting was stolen. 'The auction was coming up in a week,' recalled Fletcher, who worked to get the Federal Bureau of Investigation involved once he learned of the painting's whereabouts. 'At the last moment, the FBI did go in and basically seized the painting, withheld it from the auction.' Helen Stoddard, then 94, was ecstatic. 'I don't believe it,' she told the Globe back then. 'I'm so thrilled.' Helen Stoddard after she'd learned the Pissarro had surfaced in Ohio. Barry Chin/Globe Staff The discovery of the Pissarro prompted authorities to look closely at a Springfield-area art dealer named Robert Cornell, and his ex-wife, Jennifer Abella-Cornell, who had brought the painting to Ohio. But the estranged couple gave wildly conflicting accounts: She said she'd took it from his closet; he denied any knowledge of the painting. The FBI never charged either of them, and an agency spokesperson later told the Telegram & Gazette that reconciling their stories was 'like beating a dead horse.' Advertisement Cornell died in 2013; Abella-Cornell did not respond to a request for comment. Helen Stoddard, in poor health when the Pissarro was discovered, did not live to see its return to Worcester. In a codicil to her will, however, she said she wanted the Pissarro and the Avercamp — if ever found — to go to the museum. A stolen painting by Camille Pissarro, Bassins Duquesne et Berrigny à Dieppe, temps gris (The Duquesne and Berrigny Basins at Dieppe, Overcast Weather), 1902, now at the Worcester Art Museum, surfaced in 1998. Stoddard Acquisition Fund in memory of Mr. and Mrs. Robert W. Stoddard. Camille Pissarro Another of the stolen works, a small painting by Boston-born Impressionist Childe Hassam, turned up at auction around 2006. But the work never entered the museum's collection, and it was eventually sold at auction. The trail of the Avercamp and other missing works then went cold. Frustrated by the lack of progress and still hoping they might be retrieved, Fletcher, the Stoddards' nephew, finally turned to Schorer in 2021. He put information about the missing artworks in a manila envelope and sent it to the sleuth. Fletcher was by then familiar with Schorer. The dealer, whose Provincetown home was designed by Bauhaus School founder Walter Gropius, is a shareholder in London's storied Agnews Gallery. He's renowned in the trade, and he'd recently discovered a Schorer was only vaguely aware of the Stoddard theft at the time, but as he looked through the envelope's contents, he began to concentrate on the works he found most interesting: the Avercamp, the Turner, and an oil painting by 19th-century Dutch painter Johan Jongkind. 'They were quite distinctive,' said Schorer, who began to scour the internet. 'I figured, even in silhouette from an old image, I could find them.' Advertisement Cliff Schorer, the former head of the Worcester Art Museum board of directors, visits the museum's Baroque Gallery in Worcester, MA. Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff His search came up empty. But from his years of experience tracking down stolen art, Schorer knew that disreputable dealers will sometimes misrepresent works to evade detection. 'Finally, I said, 'All right, if I had that painting, who would I fence it as,' Schorer recalled thinking. He knew that Avercamp, a mute painter who specialized in outdoor winter scenes, had a nephew, Barent Avercamp, who mimicked the style of his more gifted relative. Schorer turned again to his computer, this time searching for winter scenes by the famed painter's nephew. Bingo: Fifteen minutes later, he came across a throw pillow that was selling for $18.40 with a portion of the missing Avercamp scene —including a distinctive arch — printed on its case. 'Instantly,' Schorer knew, 'I mean, there is no other painting of that composition.' An image of a throw pillow may not seem particularly revealing, but Schorer had made a breakthrough. The only known images of the Avercamp were grainy black and white photos from the '70s. But this image was in color. It could mean only one thing: The photo was taken after the theft. 'I clicked on that, and it took me to a page trying to sell me a pillow,' Schorer recalled. There, just above the asking price, he also found the logo of the image licensing company that held the source file. Schorer knew he'd made a breakthrough when he found a color image of the Avercamp painting on a pillow. Courtesy Cliff Schorer Schorer navigated to the site and paid $39 to download the photo. As he parsed its metadata, he discovered the copyright on the image: L.S.F.A.L., an acronym for Lawrence Steigrad Fine Arts Ltd., a dealer he'd known for years. Advertisement Steigrad told Schorer he'd taken a photo of the painting for Newhouse Galleries, which had offered the artwork at a fine arts fair in the Netherlands in the mid-90s. Working another angle, Schorer discovered the name of the person who'd originally sold the work to Newhouse: Sheldon Fish. Fish told Schorer he'd purchased the painting at the Brimfield Antique Flea Market, a short drive from Worcester. He added that he'd bought the piece 'in the '90s' but hadn't known it was by Avercamp and couldn't remember the seller's name. 'I just thought it was a good painting,' Fish told the Globe via telephone from Peru. 'I took a shot.' Schorer is now convinced the mysterious Brimfield seller was Cornell, the art dealer who was implicated when the Pissarro surfaced in the late '90s. 'Cornell exhibited there,' he said. 'He sold it to Sheldon Fish.' Newhouse Galleries, which Schorer said offered the painting as the work of Barent Avercamp, has since closed. But Schorer managed to access the gallery's archives, where he learned the name of the Dutch couple, now deceased, that had purchased the work at the art fair back in the '90s. By August 2021, Schorer had tracked down an heir to the couple and began firing off a series of increasingly urgent letters. But he received no response. Eventually, Schorer wrote that he planned to go on Dutch television about the case, enlisting a well-known art recovery expert, who also made contact. 'At that point, finally, they came back' to me, he said. Terms of the Avercamp agreement, including the name of the Dutch family, were not revealed. But after years of searching, Schorer finally collected the picture in early May after having it independently authenticated at a meeting in Antwerp, Belgium. The small group of individuals who supported the recovery of the painting now plan to donate it to the museum. Schorer returned home the following day, stowing the artwork in the back of his car while he squired it back to Worcester. James Welu, who led the museum when the Pissarro came home, said the Avercamp's return 'was like déjà vu.' Cliff Schorer, left, inspects the recovered painting with conservator Matthew Cushman. Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff Current museum director Matthias Waschek called it 'profoundly meaningful.' 'Not only because a long-lost work of art has been returned to the family that once owned it,' he said in a statement, 'but because it reflects the enduring bond between the Stoddard family and the Worcester Art Museum.' During a meeting last week, Schorer marveled at the overall condition of the painting with conservator Matthew Cushman. The yellowed varnish will need to be addressed, Cushman said, and there may be some minor retouching before he applies a new coat of varnish. Otherwise, the painting is almost exactly as it was described in a conservator's report from 1977. But Schorer was already thinking about other missing works from the Stoddard collection, saying he plans to focus on the nexus revealed by the recovered Avercamp and Pissarro. 'That's the exciting part,' he said. 'There's a whole number of threads now that I can unravel.' Malcolm Gay can be reached at
Asia Times
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Asia Times
America is in Asia, but not of Asia
Everybody was kung fu fighting Those cats were fast as lightning In fact, it was a little bit frightening But they fought with expert timing – Carl Douglas The United States of America ruined its future as an Asian power 143 years ago when it passed the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the first US law to prevent immigration of a specific nationality. In the 19th century, China was turned upside down by internal chaos. The Opium Wars, the Taiping Rebellion, clan feuds, droughts and famines pushed waves of Chinese migrants out to all corners of the world – particularly Southeast Asia, Europe and America. Starting with the California Gold Rush of 1848-1855, waves of Chinese migrants fanned out across the western United States working in mines, laundries, restaurants and on construction projects. Chinese coolies were instrumental in the arduous construction of the Central Pacific route of the first transcontinental railroad, cutting through the Sierra Nevada Mountains to connect Nevada and California. In his 1920 book 'The Rising Tide of Color: The Threat Against White World-Supremacy', eugenicist and racial anthropologist Lothrop Stoddard of 'The Great Gatsby' infamy wrote of Chinese labor: At home, the average Chinese lives his whole life literally within a hand's breadth of starvation. Accordingly, when removed to the easier environments of other lands, the Chinaman brings with him the working capacity which simply appalls his competitors. F Scott Fitzgerald dismissed Stoddard by making him an obsession of the boorish Tom Buchanan (misnaming him 'Goddard' to boot). On the issue of Chinese labor, however, Stoddard merely reflected the American opinion that prevailed in the 19th century and that ultimately resulted in the Chinese Exclusion Act. By the 1870s, Chinese men accounted for a quarter of California's workforce. White workers were hard pressed to match the industriousness of the Chinese, reflected in the fact that the Central Pacific Railroad paid Chinese workers a premium salary: $31 per week versus $30 per week for whites. Resentments intensified after the Panic of 1873, resulting in increasing restrictions on Chinese immigration until the broad ban of the Chinese Exclusion Act was enacted in 1882. A harrowing 'driving out period' followed the immigration ban, with Chinese evicted from communities where they had long settled. The Rock Springs massacre of 1885 and the Hells Canyon Massacre of 1887 were especially gruesome episodes of anti-Chinese violence. The Chinese Exclusion Act was repealed in 1943, but by then, the damage had been done. Today, there are 5.5 million Americans who claim full or partial Chinese ancestry, a mere 1.6% of the population. This compares with 38.6 million (11.3% of the population) claiming Irish ancestry, 49 million (14.4%) claiming German ancestry and 16.8 million (4.9%) claiming Italian ancestry. There are 3.6 million more Scandinavian Americans than there are Chinese Americans. Nativists were dead set against nonwhite immigration. Cartoon image via National Public Radio. There are 26 million Americans who claim full or partial Asian ancestry, 7.2% of the total population. If the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 had never been passed, there would certainly be far more. At the time, China had a population of 400 million, Europe 330 million and the United States 54 million. In a counterfactual sans Exclusion Act history, it is not hard to imagine over 100 million Asian Americans today. Alcatraz Island could have been the West Coast's Ellis Island, processing Asian immigrants well into the 20th century. Of course, this alternate universe America would be very different and we could have much fun speculating on the endless counterfactual possibilities. Suffice it to say that a United States with over 100 million Asian Americans would forever cement the republic as not just a Pacific but an Asian power. That, for better or for worse, is not the America we have today. The United States today may be a Pacific power, but it is certainly not Asian. America became a Pacific power after it, fearing being shut out of the opium trade by European powers, sent Commodore Perry and his black ships to force open Japan in 1852. Ever since, the United States has been a military presence in Asia through subsequent kerfuffles like the Second Opium War, the Boxer Rebellion, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. As time goes on, it is becoming ever more apparent that the United States is in Asia, but it is not of Asia. Korea is divided. So is China. Vietnam, after much carnage, was abandoned. And Japan has been kneecapped into economic stagnation and bonsaied into cultural anomie. And now, the United States has just picked an economic war with China, which it is highly likely to lose and lose spectacularly (see here). The danger of America being in Asia but not of Asia is that it is playing on alien terrain, subject to information asymmetries, and prone to bad judgment. There are so few Chinese Americans that they essentially have no political power. Because of that, the expertise of the Chinese Americans who do exist is distrusted and dismissed as Washington takes its cues from grifters (see here) and China 'experts' who 'fell in love with Mandarin' at Princeton or the like. In the counterfactual America of 100 million Asians, Chinese Americans would surely have amassed significant political power and Washington would be able to access real experts without political suspicion. America would trust Treasury Secretary Zhang to go up against China as much as it trusted Supreme Commander Eisenhower to take on Germany. But alas, that is the counterfactual America. The factual America chose to fight China with the ignoramuses it trusts, not the experts it needs. This is what happens when America is in Asia but not of Asia. America started a fight as though it didn't know China is more than twice its size (see here). To be in Asia but not of Asia when China is the size it is and still growing means to not be in Asia for long. The US military presence in Asia is an alien distortion, imposing social, economic and civilizational costs on both sides of the Pacific. The US is not particularly reliant on Asia economically (36% of imports and 24% of exports) and is minimally integrated culturally. English is the lingua franca in Europe and far more Americans speak Spanish than all Asian languages combined. While English is commonly spoken in Asia, it is hardly universal – not even among the highly educated. Asia, as far as most Americans are concerned, is an exotic other and vice versa. The costs of maintaining a forward US military presence in Asia are immense. Total spending on defense is likely over US$1 trillion (including intelligence agencies and DOE nuclear weapons, etc.), or approximately 3.4% of gross domestic product (GDP). The tyranny of distance, on top of a massive industrial base, allows China to impose highly asymmetric costs on the US. Total spending on defense by China is likely around $300 billion, or about 1.6% of GDP. Because GDP can be squirrely given how services are accounted for in China, a more revealing comparison may be with industrial output. China's defense spending is around 4% of its industrial output versus about 25% for the US. One of the reasons the Soviet Union collapsed was that the US, given its technological superiority and the then USSR's vast vulnerable landmass, was able to impose asymmetric costs on the Soviet defense budget – the Ronald Reagan strategy. Analysts have estimated that the Soviet Union was spending 12-20% of its GDP on defense in the 1980s trying to keep up with Reagan's Pentagon budget increases and whiz-bang Star Wars demonstrations. This time around, China is implementing the Reagan strategy with annual PLA budget increases and whiz-bang demonstrations of 6th-generation fighter planes (see here). Can Joe Six Pack American be blamed for asking what it is all for when he is living paycheck to paycheck? America is not, after all, an Asian nation – it fatefully, for better or for worse, decided not to be 143 years ago with the Chinese Exclusion Act and confirmed that decision in WWII with Japanese American internment camps. America is not full of Zhou Six Packs with deep historical ties to Asia. Proponents of the pivot to Asia and/or China containment policy offer up a confused litany of reasons for America's military presence. The most visible spokesman for this position is Elbridge Colby, currently undersecretary of defense for policy at the Pentagon, who wrote the book 'Strategy of Denial.' The fear is that a hegemonic China in Asia would economically gate-keep the region from American commercial interests. Given President Donald Trump's attempt to extort the world with his 'Liberation Day' tariffs, we must concede that a hegemon may indeed behave poorly for no good reason at all. The issue we have with Colby is once again the issue of America being in Asia but not of Asia. How good of a handle does Colby have on the costs that his strategy of denial requires? America currently suffers from a whole panoply of domestic ailments, from inadequate healthcare to lousy education to decrepit infrastructure to homelessness. Does Colby fully understand what he wants to commit America to? Does Colby understand that China's GDP is two to three times that of the US – something Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and team surely (dis)missed? Does Colby understand that there are 45 times as many highly capable (top 1.5%, US basis) math students in Chinese high schools as American high schools? Does Colby understand that approximately 20-30% of Chinese high school students can score in the 99th percentile on the math section of the SAT? 99th percentile US math level is table stakes in China, nothing special, a mere B+ student in the Gaokao system. Does Colby understand that China generates twice as much electricity, produces 13 times as much steel, 22 times as much cement, three times as many cars and has over 250 times the shipbuilding capacity as the US? Colby's family history perfectly illustrates being in Asia but not of Asia. He is a scion of the CIA/Carlyle Group/Yale University with a deep family history in Asia. The first Elbridge Colby (great-grandfather) was an officer in the US Army stationed in Tianjin. Grandfather William Colby was director of the CIA and did god knows what in Asia during the Vietnam War. Father Jonathan Colby is an executive at Carlyle who spent much of his career in Japan. The scion himself is a product of international schools in Asia (but does not speak an Asian language). At one point, young Colby tweeted that he was 'not an expert on Taiwanese society and politics', an odd admission from someone whose life's work is the prevention of China's reunification with Taiwan. This is all quite illustrative of America's confused presence in Asia. In an interview, Colby used scare tactics, saying that an Asia dominated by China would impoverish America and China would then have the world's largest corporations and highest-ranked universities. Last year, the US retook Fortune's Global 500 crown away from China with 139 companies on the list versus China's 128. The two nations have been exchanging the top spot for the past few years. This is a far cry from 2010, when the US had 139 companies on the list versus 46 from China. Similarly, China's universities are rocketing up the league tables, capturing 16 of the top 20 positions on the Nature Index. Image: Nature While an Asia dominated by China, which then decided to gate-keep economic access, could indeed damage America, climbing the economic ladder is likely far more dependent on first-order principles like investing in education, infrastructure, public health, executing well-thought-out industrial policies, and stamping out graft and corruption. America is falling behind not because China is modernizing its military, but precisely because America wasted trillions of dollars on unnecessary wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and now threatens to militarily challenge the biggest player that ever was. Colby calls himself a realist, though it's not clear that he knows exactly what he is. Just like America does not know what it is. America may want to be an Asian power, but that ship sailed in 1882. America is not Asian – it chose not to be on more than one occasion – and has demonstrated a limited capacity to understand any region outside its borders, even Canada. To devise realist policies for Asian security requires expertise on the region's society and politics. Otherwise, one is not weighing costs and benefits but merely pointing in ideological directions. But nowadays that passes for 'realist' thinking among America's Asia 'experts.' When all is said and done, America is in Asia because it finds itself in Asia. There is no reason: Like international school students who don't learn the local language, they are there because that's where they are. Not everything has a reason or lasts.
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Yahoo
What is a CLEAR Alert? Texas DPS looking for Elizabeth Stoddard, missing from Plano
Have you seen Elizabeth Stoddard? The Texas Department of Public Safety has issued a CLEAR Alert for Stoddard, 30. She went missing from Plano and is possibly in danger. Stoddard is a white female with green eyes and red or auburn hair, standing at 5'5" and weighing approximately 180 pounds. She was last seen wearing a black shirt, black pants and a purple backpack, on the 1400 block of Burlington Drive in Plano at 7:30 a.m. on Monday, March 17. Police have identified a vehicle associated with Stoddard as a gray 2016 Crosstrek Subaru, with Texas license plate 48B678A. Local law enforcement is asking members of the public to call 911 if they see Stoddard or the vehicle or know anything related to Stoddard's whereabouts. Click here to view active alerts in Texas. A CLEAR Alert is used to help locate missing or kidnapped adults or those in life-or-death situations, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. The acronym stands for "Coordinated Law Enforcement Adult Rescue." The following requirements are needed for a person to fall under the alert: A person is between 18 and 64 years old and whose whereabouts are unknown A preliminary investigation verified the adult was in danger Alert is requested within 72 hours of the adult's disappearance Enough information is available to share with the public to help locate the adult. — Krystal Nurse, USA TODAY This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: CLEAR Alert: Plano police looking for missing adult Elizabeth Stoddard
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Effort to replenish Maine's depleted EV incentive program could also reduce electricity costs
An electric vehicle charging station in Damariscotta, Maine. (Evan Houk/Maine Morning Star) Despite wanting 150,000 light-duty electric vehicles on Maine roads by the start of the next decade, the state ran out of funding for a key incentive program last year. However, a bill introduced Thursday could help fill that gap. The Legislature's Energy, Utilities and Technology held a public hearing for LD 585, which would amend language in the Efficiency Maine Trust Act to allow more flexibility in using certain program funds that are currently only used for subsidizing heat pumps. The bill would remove those limitations so certain revenue, known as forward capacity market funds, could be used for electric vehicles as well. This change, as well as other language updates proposed in the bill, could, in turn, reduce electricity costs for ratepayers, said Sen. Henry Ingwersen (D-York), the bill sponsor. The additional load from electric vehicles dilutes the rates utility companies must charge to maintain and operate the grid, which helps reduce costs for all ratepayers, Ingwersen explained. While Efficiency Maine has a variety of funding mechanisms for heat pump incentives, there aren't other revenue streams for the now-exhausted electric vehicle rebate program, said Executive Director Michael Stoddard. In mid-November, Efficiency Maine had to stop issuing EV rebates — except for those designated for low-income customers — because it exhausted the $13.5 million provided for the program when it launched in 2019. Efficiency Maine's EV rebate program offered up to $2,000 for the purchase of a new battery electric vehicle or plug-in hybrid to Mainers of any income. The rebate amount increased to $7,500 for low-income consumers and included an option to get some money back for purchasing a used hybrid or electric vehicle. Efficiency Maine originally forecasted its funding for EV rebates would last through this coming June, but Stoddard previously told Maine Morning Star that demand accelerated more than expected in the second half of last year. Stoddard shared this unexpected ramp up with the committee Thursday when they raised questions about future demand for electric vehicles. Although there was high demand last year, Stoddard reminded the committee that the language in the bill would still allow the trust to use the money on heat pumps if EV demand were to fall off. 'It gives us some discretion to move around and adjust to the market,' Stoddard said, noting that demand for heat pumps remains high. Gov. Janet Mills has encouraged the transition to heat pumps, setting a goal in 2019 of installing 100,000 by 2025. That goal was met in 2023, so the governor set a new target of another 175,000 heat pump installations by 2027. The Governor's Energy Office testified in support of the bill, seeing it as a tool to aid in an affordable energy transition. Public Advocate Heather Sanborn also supported the bill for its potential to reduce costs for customers. '[Efficiency Maine] has a track record of demonstrably driving down rates for all ratepayers,' Sanborn said. 'We think their efforts should continue.' Environmental advocates also spoke in favor of the bill for its potential to encourage more Mainers to make the switch to EVs. Given that transportation is responsible for nearly half of the state's carbon emissions, the state's climate action plan calls for the adoption of electric and hybrid vehicles to combat climate change. One member of the public spoke in opposition to the bill. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Money from New England grid operator could be used to promote electric vehicle subsidies in Maine
Mar. 6—Maine could gain more than $2 million from New England's electricity grid operator to help pay for electric vehicle subsidies through a proposal in the state Legislature. The measure would allow Maine to use funding from one of several electricity markets operated by ISO-New England, the region's grid operator based in Massachusetts. It is part of a larger effort to expand the use of zero-emissions transportation. Businesses that buy and sell electricity and are accepted as bidders in ISO's marketplace auction can promote energy efficiency measures to help reduce demand for power. Efficiency Maine, the state's quasi-state agency that promotes energy efficiency, taps the ISO's market and other funding sources to offer rebates to buyers of electric heat pumps. Legislation sponsored by Democratic Sen. Henry Ingwersen of York would extend that to EVs. Funding for EV rebates has already been budgeted at $2 million and ISO-New England would provide another $2 million or more in a 50-50 split between EV and electric heat pump funding of $4 million to $5 million a year, Michael Stoddard, executive director of Efficiency Maine Trust, said Thursday. Efficiency Maine Trust had spent about $4.4 million before the program was suspended last November when funding was exhausted, he said. Since the start in 2019 of the EV rebate program, funding has come from settlements in a lawsuit with Volkswagen and the New England Clean Energy Connect transmission line and a one-time appropriation from the state's general fund. Over the course of this program, Efficiency Maine says it has provided rebates for more than 6,000 vehicles. EV rebates are still available for low-income applicants with money from the NECEC settlement, Stoddard told members of the Legislature's Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee at a public hearing. Low-income Mainers — those who receive heating assistance; Supplemental Nutrition Assistance, or food stamps; Temporary Assistance for Needy Families; or MaineCare medical assistance — are eligible for EV incentives of between $2,500 and $7,500, depending on whether they're buying a battery EV, a plug-in hybrid EV or a used vehicle. If the legislation succeeds, Efficiency Maine Trust programs will increasingly focus on low- and moderate-income residents, businesses and government agencies that face barriers paying the higher upfront costs of EVs, Stoddard said. "The rebates really do make a difference," he said. The transportation sector accounts for about half of the carbon emissions in Maine, according to the state climate plan, and reaching emission reductions targets without expanding EV use will be a stretch, environmentalists say. Maine law requires the state to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45% by 2030 and by at least 80% by 2050. Stoddard and Ingwersen said EVs can reduce electricity rates because the increased electricity use can spread fixed costs over a larger volume of sales, modestly reducing per kilowatt-hour rates. EVs, with fewer mechanical parts than gasoline-powered vehicles, are less costly to operate "and we are confident the marketplace is moving in this direction over the next decade," Stoddard said. "This is not a regulatory approach. This is not a stick," he said. "This is a carrot." Nearly 17,500 battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles are on the road in Maine, according to an analysis by Atlas Public Policy. That's about 12% of the state's goal of putting 150,000 light-duty battery electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles on the road in Maine by 2030. Maine's Climate plan says the state needs to more quickly increase the number of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, and improve public transportation and land use planning for new development that helps Mainers avoid or reduce driving. Copy the Story Link
