Maine touted at energy symposium
Former Maine Public Utilities Chairman Kurt Adams, now an executive vice president with First Wind energy company, touted the state's renewable energy policies, calling them among the best in the nation at a Portland energy symposium yesterday.
Adams, one of five panelists convened to discuss how Maine can develop an economy around the energy industry at Mainebiz's annual Powering Up Maine event, said the laws are clear and the permitting process rigorous in Maine, ensuring that renewable energy projects are thoroughly vetted.
Other panelists, from the finance, education, transportation and manufacturing sectors, had similarly positive observations about Maine's potential to be a leader in energy development and the broad-based economic benefit the state would derive. (The symposium will be aired by Maine Public Broadcasting Network, co-hosts of the event.) Panelists suggested several policy changes that could enhance Maine's energy future, among them: stabilize the value of renewable energy credits, which can change by legislative whim; remove the opt-out option for federal agencies involved in streamlined permitting processes; amend property tax laws so that wind turbine components aren't taxed as property until they are installed on site; identify and secure land near ports for future energy-related developments; fully fund education and training initiatives around this emerging industry and establish a rigorous credential system.
The panel followed a keynote address by Dr. Habib Dagher, director of the University of Maine's AEWC Advanced Structures and Composites Center, who recently returned from a trade mission to Europe to assess wind energy technologies. He said executives from Norwegian energy company StatoilHydro will visit Maine next month to look at the possibility of using composites in the design of their turbines, and to assess whether they are suitable for the Gulf of Maine. Dagher said if Maine aggressively pursues its wind energy potential, the state could generate as much as 5 gigawatts of wind energy a year and employ 15,000 people if wind power components are manufactured in state.
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