Campaigning on Renewable Energy Benefits

I can’t believe I am writing this nearly two years to the day since I wrote a similar letter on the same topic. At the last minute, my state representative Jeffrey Pierce (R-Dresden) flipped his vote on LD 1444, a very modest solar bill, after assuring many of us that he not only support the bill, but would vote to override any veto. He voted to sustain the veto. LD 1444 was a bipartisan bill that would keep CMP from trying to charge solar energy customers for power that they use at the source and not sent out onto the transmission lines. Additionally, from a community solar perspective, this bill would have increased the number of individuals who could invest in a larger solar farm.

In Woolwich, we have a capped landfill that could provide the space for such a project. We are already using part of the landfill for a solar array that powers the town’s buildings. Solar energy benefits all of us, regardless of whether we actually have installed panels for our use.

As I wrote two years ago, Rep. Pierce is on the wrong side of his constituents on this issue. And so is the governor. We need a renewable energy advocate in the legislature, and someone who recognizes the long-term consequences of doing nothing in the face of climate change. It’s one of the reasons I am running for state representative to represent the people in this district.

Allison Hepler,
Woolwich

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