House unanimously enacts Pingree bill to encourage renewable energy

April 1, 2008

AUGUSTA – The Maine House of Representatives unanimously supported a bill on Tuesday that aims to help consumers to conserve energy, and develop and share renewable energy resources.

House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree submitted the bill, LD 2149 – “Resolve, To Lower Energy Costs and Increase Renewable Energy in Maine,” to the Utilities Committee in February. She worked with the Committee throughout February and into March in developing an amendment that earned unanimous committee support.

Pingree, D-North Haven, said that while large-scale renewable energy projects like wind farms have garnered much attention in the state recently, there is a growing desire among Mainers and people across the country to adopt small to medium-sized renewable energy projects of their own, and save money in the process. Her bill would take a multi-faceted approach toward enabling residential and business consumers to develop personal and group green energy projects, and save money by practicing energy efficiency.

“Personal renewable energy is no longer a gimmick or luxury for rich environmentalists,” Pingree said. “Between the skyrocketing costs of traditional energy and the ever-mounting evidence that global warming is a serious and imminent threat, people in our state and across the country are taking a real interest in reducing their carbon footprint and moving toward clean, renewable energy. We ought to make it as easy for them to make that transition as possible. "

The bill as amended would ask the Public Utilities Commission to develop a plan for the State to expand its net-energy billing limits. Net energy billing is the system by which consumers who generate their own energy - typically through solar panels but also potentially with a small wind turbine - connect to the energy grid.

Although a smart consumer using an efficient renewable energy project may be able to generate more energy than they need over the course of a month or year, renewable energy projects typically only generate power during certain times of the day; for instance, a customer generating power through solar panels generates extra power that can go to the grid during the day, but they must rely on energy from the power grid at night.

Net-energy billing establishes the standards for a customer to connect with the grid and exchange energy. The state currently allows net-energy projects of up to 100kw, which is enough energy to power a few homes or a large building. Pingree would like to see those limits raised, so that small communities, campuses and businesses would be able to collaborate on bigger green energy projects.

Her bill asks the Public Utilities Commission to review and present options for expanding net-energy limits. She proposed that the plan would set different benefits and regulations depending on the size of the project. The bill would require the PUC to consider what other states are doing with larger net-energy limits, and review recent reports on wind power and interstate energy compacts in developing their plan. Pingree also asked the PUC to develop a plan for cooperative billing, so interested groups could take advantage of the higher limits together.

Her bill would also require the Commission to develop regular and reliable standards for consumers to connect their net-energy projects to the grid. More than 30 states already have these interconnection standards in place, and they ensure that a utility can not charge outrageous fees or set unreasonable regulations for a net-energy proposal in order to discourage the project. The Commission would develop rules defining the interconnection standards for the legislature to approve in January.

Pingree said the measure will encourage new and consistent economic growth in Maine, saying that the renewable energy business is rapidly developing into an economic powerhouse.

“Maine is uniquely abundant in the resources that drive clean and renewable energy,” Pingree said, pointing out that Maine is the most densely forested state in the country and the eleventh-windiest, and boasts a wealth of lakes, rivers and open space that may be utilized for renewable resource development. “We can be an international leader in developing those new resources right here. It’s a billion-dollar industry that is growing by the year, and it’s a guaranteed sure-thing that it will only grow more in the years to come.”

The bill also asks the PUC to develop a plan for Maine utilities to move toward real-time energy rates. Heralded as one of the best ways to encourage energy conservation, under the new system consumers would be charged different rates based on the demand for energy at the time they are using it. It would require that utilities provide “advanced metering infrastructure” technology to consumers so they know when the rates are highest - typically during regular business hours, and lowest – typically after regular business hours - and can make decisions on when to operate appliances.

“Maine people are smart consumers,” Pingree said. “I think that most Maine households would jump at the opportunity to reduce our energy bills and consumption overall by making some small and often unnoticeable adjustments to our lifestyles.”

The bill would also encourage new incentives for consumers to make substantial home efficiency upgrades. Maine has some of the oldest housing stock in the country, and many homes are severely inefficient at producing and containing heat and energy. Many Maine consumers could save hundreds or even thousands of dollars a year by making some home improvements that the State would help them to afford.

Finally, the committee added a provision that requires the director of the Governor's Office of Energy Independence and Security and the Energy Resources Council to undertake a joint project to examine opportunities for energy conservation through the reuse of waste heat and to develop a plan to reduce peak-load energy consumption in existing and new state government buildings.

Every member of the House of Representatives who was present for the roll call vote supported the measure Tuesday morning, which now goes to the Senate for final enactment and then to Governor Baldacci for his signature.

Contact:

Travis Kennedy, Communications Director, 287-1433