By U.S. Sen. Angus King
(I-Maine)
As stewards of our natural environment, we have an obligation to leave our children a healthy and thriving planet. Crafting a national energy policy that promotes the responsible use of domestic resources is a key part of ensuring that future. The success of such a policy will rely on a combination of improved efficiency, smarter use of fuels, and increased domestic production of oil, gas, and renewables. Sitting at the forefront of alternative energy development, Maine is well positioned to play a key role in advancing this strategy with combinations of biomass, solar, wind, and natural gas.
I saw this firsthand during my recent trip to Aroostook County. During my visit I toured the University of Maine at Presque Isle (UMPI) as well as Northern Maine Community College (NMCC). Last fall, NMCC broke ground on a new biomass boiler that, now completed, will provide heat for 70 percent of the buildings on campus and save the college a projected $43,000 in annual utility costs. In addition, using locally produced biomass pellets keeps the money for fuel in Maine, creating jobs and economic activity right here at home.
Further, UMPI has become the first university in the state to install a mid-sized wind turbine on campus, which is generating over $100,000 in yearly energy savings and eliminating 572 tons of carbon dioxide emissions. UMPI, which is also using solar and biomass, is setting an example of how various sources of alternative energy can work in concert toward energy independence.
All across the state businesses, students, teachers, and scientists are developing innovative alternative energy technology. The University of Maine recently launched the nation’s first offshore floating wind turbine; Pleasant River Lumber, in Dover-Foxcroft, won a grant to install a biomass boiler for one of its sawmills; The Aroostook Medical Center, in Presque Isle, is the second facility in the county to use compressed natural gas for heating and cooling; Portland’s Maine Standard Biofuels converts waste grease into biodiesel for statewide distribution; and the Ocean Renewable Power Company, in Eastport, is operating the first grid-connect tidal power system in all of the Americas. We are home to over eleven wind farms throughout the state that can generate 662 megawatts of power, which is enough energy to supply 250,000 homes, and we also have extensive hydropower capacity that can generate between 600 and 700 megawatts of clean energy. Undeniably, Maine is at the forefront of energy independence.
Breathing new life into our forest-products industry, the growing popularity of thermal biomass systems illustrates how alternative energy technologies are creating new jobs, helping Mainers save more of their hard earned energy dollars, and strengthening our communities as a portion of those saving are reinvested in the state. According to industry advocates, thermal biomass wood pellet systems reduce heating bills by an average of 40 percent. With respect to wood pellet boilers, pellets cost roughly the equivalent of $1.70 to $2.00 per gallon of heating fuel. Additionally, nearly every cent of biomass heating investments is returned to the local economy, whereas 80 percent of every heating oil dollar is sent out of the state. In New York State and New England, it has been estimated that for every 100,000 tons of pellets manufactured, 342 direct jobs are created.
In an effort to shine light on the environmental and economic benefits of thermal biomass systems, I introduced the Biomass Thermal Utilization Act of 2013, which would amend the federal tax code to incentivize biomass energy as the code already does for many other renewables. I was pleased to have Sen. Susan Collins also supporting this industry by cosponsoring the bill. Specifically, our legislation emphasizes that biomass is currently an underutilized resource, and adds thermal biomass systems to the list of existing technologies that qualify for residential and commercial tax credits.
Between our abundance of readily available natural resources and our tireless entrepreneurial spirit, Maine has enormous potential to help shape a new national energy policy. With the soaring costs of oil hurting us both at home and at the pump, it’s simply an opportunity we cannot afford to miss.
