Woodcock and Littell provide lunch-timer primer on Maine’s energy issues
Sitting elbow to elbow at an Oct. 2 luncheon forum hosted by the Drummond Woodsum law firm at its Portland office, former Maine Public Utilities Commissioner David Littell and Governor's Energy Office Director Patrick Woodcock demonstrated how differences of opinion on the state's energy policies can, in fact, be discussed with civility, mutual respect and a sense of humor.
It's tempting to say that's the most newsworthy element of the forum, given the political tenor in Augusta these past few months.
But they also provided an interesting insiders' perspective on a number of energy-related issues. Here are some highlights of their discussion:
Offshore wind power: On Sept. 28, Woodcock was invited to speak at the White House Summit on Offshore Wind, a gathering of federal, state and industry stakeholders committed to the long-term and sustainable development of offshore wind in the United States. He reported that the U.S. Department of Energy is funding a multi-state project by Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New York to produce a regional roadmap for offshore wind. The initiative is intended to “lay out a cooperative path to develop offshore wind at the large-scale level of deployment needed to achieve economies of scales and establish a regional supply chain with high-quality local jobs,” according to a White House release on the project.
Woodcock characterized the effort as a “reorientation” by the Obama administration away from its earlier focus on funding a competitive DOE approach that encouraged “a rush by individual states [including Maine] to be the first state to put the infrastructure in place” in offshore waters. Instead, he said, the White House summit emphasized the importance of collaboration by coastal states in developing the still-fledgling offshore wind energy industry in order to achieve the 2030 goal of offshore wind supplying 22,000 megawatts of renewable energy, which is enough to power 4.5 million homes.
Smart meters: By and large, Littell said, in the roughly five years since the PUC gave its final approval to Central Maine Power Co. to install 625,000 smart meters in its service area, the digital meters have proved “very useful” to the utility but they're falling far short of the intended goal of helping consumers take control of how and when they use electricity. Littell singled out Maryland and California as states leading the way in helping homeowners and businesses understand how smart meters can help them shift their electricity usage to hours where electricity costs the least — thereby lowering their total bill and often decreasing overall peak demand on the power grid.
Split-air heat pumps: Woodcock acknowledged he was initially skeptical when Bangor Hydro and its sister company Maine Public Service (now called Emera Maine) launched a pilot project in 2013 to encourage electric heat using split-air heat pumps. But with new electric heat pump technology delivering significant energy savings compared to oil, and being able to perform in temperatures as low as -15 degrees Fahrenheit, he's come to see heat pumps as a viable option. Along with weatherization and switching to natural gas or wood pellets, he said, they're helping Mainers reduce their heating costs. “Our heating oil consumption has had a dramatic reduction,” he said, noting that 10,000 heat pumps were installed in Maine last year, which was “more than the rest of New England combined.”
Energy efficiency: Both Woodcock and Littell agreed the state could be doing more to encourage homeowners and small businesses to invest in weatherization and energy efficiency in order to reduce their heating costs — highlighting the need, in particular, to do more for the state's poorest residents. Woodcock suggested that the discussion on solar policy that's likely to take place in the Legislature's next session should “make sure it works for all demographic groups.”
“I think our energy policies, for the most part, have been failing our low-income households,” he said.
A parting thought: “These are complex problems that can be solved,” Littell said.
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