Maine should be looking to the future for forest products, not clinging to the past. The Editorial Board Portland Press Herald editorial Maine lawmakers faced a crisis in 2016: Subsidize the biomass industry or see hundreds of jobs vanish. It wasn’t much of a choice, following the shutdown of paper mills in Madison and Bucksport, Read More
biomass
Opposition to LD 953, An Act To Authorize a General Fund Bond Issue To Support the Biomass Industry
Good morning Senator Hamper, Representative Gattine and members of the Committee on Appropriations and Financial Affairs. My name is Nick Bennett, and I am the Staff Scientist for the Natural Resources Council of Maine. I am testifying in opposition to LD 953. NRCM supports the use of woody biomass for energy. Wood is a renewable, Read More
Neither for Nor Against LD 897, An Act To Authorize a General Fund Bond Issue To Support the Biomass Industry
Good morning Senator Hamper, Representative Gattine, and members of the Committee on Appropriations and Financial Affairs. My name is Nick Bennett and I am the Staff Scientist for the Natural Resources Council of Maine. I am testifying neither for nor against LD 897. NRCM supports providing funding for combined heat and power (CHP) for saw Read More
Opposition to LD 1632, An Act to Establish the Manufacturing Jobs Energy Program
Senator Woodsome, Representative Berry, and members of the Joint Standing Committee on Energy, Utilities & Technology, my name is Dylan Voorhees and I am the Clean Energy Director for the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM). Thank you for allowing us to present this testimony. NRCM supports the development of policies that increase availability of Read More
Maine Lawmakers Put Biomass On Hold; Solar Inches Forward
Public News Service news story AUGUSTA, Maine — Faced with key decisions on the best way to proceed on energy sources for Maine, state legislators have put off a bill to promote biomass, and moved forward on a measure to support solar power. Dylan Voorhees, climate and clean energy director with the Natural Resources Council Read More
Switching from Whiskey to Beer and the False Promise of Woody Biomass
by Stephen Mulkey, PhD “Well planned sustainable biomass power plants are a viable source of clean renewable electricity, and this is helpful for the task of phasing out coal-fired power plants. Knee-jerk opposition to all biomass projects has no sound scientific basis and is harmful to attempts to stabilize climate for the sake of our Read More
An Energy Bill in Need of Fixes
by the Editorial Board New York Times editorial The Senate voted Wednesday to approve an energy bill that contains provisions encouraging land conservation, renewable energy and improved efficiency. It also includes bad ideas that would harm the environment, particularly a provision that would encourage the burning of trees to generate electricity. Lawmakers in the Senate Read More
Maine Biomass Bailout Would Tap $13.4 Million in Public Funds
An amended proposal shifts the burden of the rescue plan from electricity ratepayers to taxpayers. By Steve Mistler, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald news story AUGUSTA — Lawmakers’ effort to bail out Maine’s six remaining biomass energy plants has shifted from a rescue subsidized by Maine electricity ratepayers to one subsidized by Maine taxpayers. After Read More
Should Maine’s Biomass Industry Receive Subsidies?
by Mal Leary Maine Public news story Lawmakers in Augusta are considering a bill that seeks to bail out the state’s ailing biomass industry by requiring consumers to purchase higher-priced power from those plants. Supporters say the measure is needed to protect an important industry, but opponents say the market should prevail. Both sides took Read More
