August 26, 2010 - more tidal; subsidies in question

I'm continuing to follow the successes of tidal energy developer ORPC.  This article quotes ORPC President and CEO Chris Sauer as calling Eastport the “Kitty Hawk” of the tidal power industry.  (Add this to Maine's list of comparative titles, including the Saudi Arabia of wind, the Saudi Arabia of biomass and forestry and the Silicon Valley of ocean energy.)


Here's a letter to the editor of the Bangor Daily News pointing out the subsidies applied to fossil fuels versus renewables.  The author agrees with a previous editorial's claim that fossil fuel subsidies were 12 times higher than alternative energy subsidies, but adds additional figures from the Energy Information Agency.  The author claims that natural gas or petroleum-produced electricity gets a subsidy of $0.25 for every million megawatt hours produced -- yes, that's a reward of one shiny coin per million MWh produced -- while wind gets a subsidy of $23.37 per MWh.  (I suspect there is a typo here, because the author concludes that the wind subsidy is "100 times more than fossil fuels", whereas these numbers would appear to support a less credible claim of wind being subsidized "100 million times more" than gas/oil.  The author then claims that recent home weatherization and efficiency improvements have been made "without government subsidies but with free market forces."

I suspect quasi-governmental entities like the Efficiency Maine Trust and the Maine State Housing Authority might argue that subsidies, incentives, and other state government spending programs deserve significant credit for residential efficiency improvements.  Rather than argue those points here, it's worth noting that the author of the editorial raises interesting policy questions about which tools are appropriate to achieve state energy, environmental and social goals.  Due to the complex layering of both energy production businesses and federal and state governments, an exact calculation of the subsidies available for various resources can prove challenging.  This debate is a fine illustration of the challenges of an apples-to-apples comparison of various resources' costs to society.


It's great to hear that here in Augusta, three hiking trail systems are about to be interconnected:
the Augusta Greenway Trail running along the Kennebec River's east bank, the Kennebec River Rail Trail along the river's west bank, and ultimately the Viles Arboretum trails on the east side.

3/19/10

The board of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power approved the Energy Cost Adjustment Factor, a multicomponent rate hike that includes Mayor Villaraigosa's carbon tax. This will add $30 per year to residentials' electric bills, and will increase business rates by 20%. Proceeds will be spent on energy efficiency.


What's new in federal energy/climate legislation? Kerry-Graham-Lieberman grows more detailed, allegedly through leaks after the closed-door session with industry (read: energy) leaders. Here's a good summary from ClimateProgress.org.


Maine energy efficiency programs in the news: a good Kennebec Journal article on how Efficiency Maine is using the $9 million in federal stimulus money that it received to award performance-based rebates of up to $3,000 for residential weatherization and efficiency measures.



A well-written Bangor Daily News article on the proposed Thorndike wind siting ordinance that goes before the annual town meeting this weekend. Other towns are also considering what they should do to regulate towers.

Maine moves to ban the importation of out-of-state firewood for use in campfires, due to the threat of non-native invasive insect species moving into Maine through the firewood.

More residential weatherization money! Rep. Chellie Pingree held a workshop yesterday with Efficiency Maine and Maine State Housing Authority to -- yet again -- publicize weatherization programs. MSHA has about $34 million for low-income weatherization projects, and Efficiency Maine has $9 million in federal stimulus funds for all income levels.

An editorial in the Toledo Blade calls for Ohio to do more to attract solar energy manufacturers, noting that since 2000 Ohio has slipped from "global leader in solar energy" to 14th out of the United States in number of solar manufacturers.

Remember the huge underground coal mine fire that destroyed the town of Centralia, Pennsylvania? It's back in the news today. The state is moving to take the property within the town by eminent domain, apparently so it can sell the mineral (coal) rights to a mining company. Meanwhile, the few remaining residents are claiming fraud, namely that the underground fire isn't so dangerous and that their property should remain theirs.

International energy news: Senegal and Syria both want civilian nuclear power.

Here's the Portland Press Herald blurb on Michael Stoddard's selection as Executive Director of Efficiency Maine. I've worked closely with Michael in his current (3 more weeks) role as senior counsel at Environment Northeast. Congratulations Michael!

US Department of Energy has filed a petition to withdraw its request to store nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain.

Remember the "Buy American" portions of the stimulus bill? Apparently they only apply to projects built by the government, not projects built by private companies. Senator Chuck Schumer cites the example of a $1.5 billion wind project in West Texas that is will receive $450 million in stimulus grants, most of which will be used to purchase of turbines from China. How much of that money truly stimulates American jobs?

On the residential weatherization front, President Obama gave more details on his proposed "Homestar" energy retrofit program. President Obama first announced this initiative in his State of the Union address. The initiative needs legislative approval, but for now it looks like it will provide jobs for contractors by offering homeowners up to $3,000 to insulate their houses, replace their leaky doors and windows, replace their old water heaters and roofs, and generally cut down on their consumption of energy.