Lawmakers grapple with logging, biomass bills
As lawmakers scrambled to get all their work done before the 127th Legislature’s scheduled adjournment on April 20, three bills designed to help Maine loggers and the state’s struggling biomass industry remained in flux. Here’s where things stood as Mainebiz went to press:
LD 1693, a bill sponsored by Assistant House Majority Leader Sara Gideon on behalf of the Professional Loggers Association of Maine, would create a blue-ribbon commission to study the costs, benefits and opportunities related to biomass with an eye toward creating new long-term markets. The bill received a unanimous “ought to pass” vote, 13-0, by the Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee and received initial House approval on April 11 “under the hammer,” or by unanimous consent.
Dana Doran, executive director of the Professional Logging Contractors of Maine, told the committee at the public hearing that Gideon’s bill presents an important opportunity for the state to identify long-term solutions to what he calls a “natural disaster” for the forest products industry.
“This is the right time to create a commission to study how Maine utilizes biomass, how beneficial it is for our forests, our people, our economy and our environment,” he said in a written statement. “This is our opportunity to create new markets and create our own plan for the use of homegrown energy. Biomass energy, more than any other energy source, keeps almost 100% of its benefits in the state … This is an energy bill, a jobs bill and an environmental bill. Doing nothing means we continue with business as usual, with consequences not only for hundreds of workers and their communities, but for the environment, forests and the future energy security of Maine.”
According to Doran’s organization, the biomass industry directly supports nearly 150 jobs and an estimated additional 900 jobs indirectly. It accounts for a 25% of the power supply in Maine. Of the six biomass plants in Maine, two closed their doors in March and the remaining four are at risk of closing.
LD 1481, a bill that would extend to loggers and farmers the sales tax exemption on fuel purchases now provided to commercial fishermen, was voted down by the Appropriations Committee. As originally proposed, the bill’s fiscal cost in terms of lost revenue to the General Fund was pegged at $8.5 million in the current fiscal year. PLC told Mainebiz there’s still a chance of the bill being approved by both the House and Senate with an amendment that strips off the fiscal note for the current year and delays implementation until July 1, 2017.
LD 1676, as initially proposed, would have directed the Maine Public Utilities Commission to secure a contract to procure by Sept. 1, through an expedited proceeding, 80 megawatts of new or existing renewable resources including biomass for five-year contracts and by Sept. 1, 2017, 60 megawatts of new or existing renewable resources including biomass for contracts of no longer than 10 years. Strong opposition was voiced at the March 28 public hearing, with large companies such as Bath Iron Works and Sappi North America, which employs more than 1,000 people at its paper mills in Skowhegan and Westbrook, stating that raising the price on electricity would put them at a competitive disadvantage in their industries.
An amended version of the bill, embraced by the EUT Committee in a 9-2-2 vote, shortens the bridge period to two years and creates a long-term road map with the possibility of a 10-year contract for up to 40 megawatts of new combined heat and power generation, with cost borne by the state’s Rainy Day fund instead of by increased electric costs to ratepayers.
Lawmakers hoped to vote on the amended bill by April 15.
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