The PUC tax on energy produced and used in the home will take effect as an election approaches. by Seth Berry Portland Press Herald op-ed AUGUSTA — Since Aug. 2, I’ve been asked many times: What happened to this year’s solar bill? And why? Despite overwhelming public support, on the last day of our legislative… Continue Reading
News
Groups File Brief Challenging Maine’s New Solar Rules
The filing appeals the Public Utilities Commission’s new solar rules in the wake of a failed legislative effort to sustain incentives. Portland Press Herald news story Groups opposed to Maine’s amended solar rules have joined in a brief challenging the authority and actions of the Public Utilities Commission. The Conservation Law Foundation, ReVision Energy, Industrial… Continue Reading
Belfast Becomes Latest City to Ban Plastic Bags, Polystyrene
By Nick McCrea, BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story BELFAST, Maine — Paper or canvas? Shoppers in Belfast will need to remember to bring their own bags from home, or get used to paper, because plastic is on the way out. Belfast city councilors approved a citywide ban on single-use plastic shopping bags and… Continue Reading
Fight Over Solar Power Incentives Goes to Maine Supreme Court
by Fred Bever Maine Public news story The battle over solar power’s future in Maine is moving to the state’s Supreme Judicial Court. Last month, lawmakers who support existing incentives for residential solar power generation failed to override Gov. Paul LePage’s veto of a plan to preserve them. That means a new rule proposed by… Continue Reading
NRCM Joins Lawsuit to Support Maine Solar Power
Joins partners in taking issue to state’s highest court News Release August 15, 2017 (PORTLAND, ME) – Conservation Law Foundation (CLF), along with ReVision Energy, Industrial Energy Consumer Group, and Natural Resources Council of Maine, filed a brief today in its appeal at the Maine Supreme Court challenging the Maine Public Utilities Commission’s (PUC) amended… Continue Reading
Zinke Has Only One Legal Option for Katahdin Woods and Waters: Retain Its Monument Status
By Anthony Moffa and Sarah Schindler, Special to the BDN Bangor Daily News op-ed Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke will soon send recommendations to President Donald Trump that could do one of three things to the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument: revoke, diminish, or retain its designation as a national monument. Only one of those… Continue Reading
Maine Aims to Use $21 Million VW Settlement to Improve Air Quality
MDOT is seeking public input on its website and plans to hold at least 2 public meetings. by Peter McGuire, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald news story The state is taking public comment on its plan to spend $21 million to reduce harmful vehicle emissions as part of a federal legal settlement with Volkswagen over… Continue Reading
In Legislature, Solar Bill Met a More Powerful Foe: Doubt
Blindsided by a late question of constitutionality, backers see an effort to preserve incentives undone by seeds of confusion. by Tux Turkel, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald news story Solar advocates spent months promoting the benefits of rooftop installations, developing details on topics ranging from job growth to lower electric rates. They thought they had… Continue Reading
Maine Environmental Group Slams Trump’s Proposed EPA Budget
by Fred Bever Maine Public news story State environmental activists took to Scarborough Beach on Thursday to condemn President Donald Trump’s plan to slash the Environmental Protection Agency’s budget by 30 percent. The Natural Resources Council of Maine staged the event to highlight the direct effects that it says Trump’s proposal would have on Maine:… Continue Reading
