Governor's bill would scale back renewable energy requirement
MaineToday Media State House WriterAUGUSTA — A partisan battle is emerging over a bill that scales back a state law that requires 10 percent of Maine's electricity by 2017 to come from renewable energy, such as wind power.
Supporters say the bill would lower Maine's energy costs and allow the state's manufacturers to be more competitive. Opponents warn that the bill represents a major shift in Maine's energy policy and would drive away investment for wind, tidal and biomass projects in the state.
Introduced by Gov. Paul LePage last week, L.D. 1570 would require that four percent of Maine's electricity come from renewable energy sources. This is the level that power companies must be at now according to current law.
The bill would also require the Maine Public Utilities Commission to get the approval of the Legislature before requiring a power company like Central Maine Power to enter into a long-term contract for energy supplies. Long-term contracts are designed to make electricity prices more stable.
Signs of party difference over the bill become apparent on Tuesday at a public hearing at the Legislature's Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee. Several of the Republicans on the committee had tense exchanges with some of those who testified in opposition to the bill.
Sen. Michael Thibodeau, R-Winterport, who co-chairs the committee, told Paul Williamson, director of the Maine Wind Industry Initiative, that it wasn't right for the government to be subsidizing the wind industry at the expense of other industries, which must pay higher electrical costs because power companies are forced to buy electricity produced by alternative energy.
"Aren't you concerned about the jobs it will cost other manufacturers in the state to buy that product?" Thibodeau asked.
Williamson replied that the state's current energy policy has attracted a $1 billion investment over the last four years and could bring in addition $16 billion in the next few years.
"Aren't you talking about jumping over dollars to chase nickels?" Williamson asked Thibodeau.
Republican Reps. Larry Dunphy of Embden and Aaron Libby of Waterboro also complained about public subsidies for alternative energy.
Nine the 13 members on the committee are serving on the committee for the first time. One of the veterans, Sen. Philip Bartlett, a Democrat from Gorham, in an interview after the meeting said that Maine's current energy policies were put in place with bipartisan support but that some of the new Republicans on the committee have brought an ideological point of view to the issue.
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Chris O'Neil, a lobbyist for Friends of Maine's Mountains, said that wind energy advocates that warn that the bill would dry up investment in Maine are engaging in hyperbole. He said the that Maine's incentives for alternative energy account for a
It is the position of BIO and its allies that the federal Renewable Fuel Standard provides the stable policy essential to attracting private investment to the development of advanced biofuels. Apparently this coalition does not want to take any chances
But critics say it's a major policy departure that could hurt investment and jobs in alternative energy and make the state more dependent on fossil fuels. Titled "An Act to Reduce Energy Prices for Maine Consumers," LD 1570 sounds innocuous enough.
Amyris will participate in a panel discussion at the Lazard Capital Markets Alternative Energy Summit in New York, NY on June 2, 2011. This event will not be webcast. Amyris will webcast a management presentation titled “Outlook for the Brazilian
Thanks to China redirecting defense monies toward Green energy – spending 1/6th as much as the US on its military, and investing twice as much on clean energy technology, they just proudly unveiled their massive wind and solar projects.
Oil price volatility boosting alternative energy investments ...
Interest in alternative energy research and development and investment is on the rise among executives and if oil prices break $121 the hunt for new power sources is likely to spike, according to a KPMG survey.
KMPG’s annual energy survey , which polls 550 financial execs from global energy companies, found that 32 percent of respondents think oil prices will peak between $131 and $140 a barrel. Nine percent pegged a range of $141 and $150 and 6 percent cited more than $151. Thirty five percent said they thought oil prices would peak between $111 and $120.
The big question is what increased oil prices, which have been increasingly volatile of late, will mean for future investments. Here’s what KPMG’s survey reveals:
44 percent of execs said shale gas/oil investment would step up and 62 percent said that shale deposits would have a big impact on energy needs. Indeed, the New Yorker recently did a story on how North Dakota’s shale deposits could make the state a larger oil producer than Iraq and Kuwait. 31 percent of execs argued that solar would get an investment boost followed by wind (25 percent), clean coal (17 percent) and biodiesel (10 percent). Chemically stored electricity such as batteries and fuel cells were cited by 8 percent as a likely winner amid high oil prices.Perhaps the biggest takeaway here is that the energy industry is willing to explore all options, said KPMG.
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