I had a few comments/questions regarding your story in The Forecaster, “Yarmouth committee recommends purchase of ‘remote’ solar energy,” (Feb. 13).
The story and the mission of the committee’s agreement are misleading. This is simply a purchase and sale agreement to purchase power. There is absolutely no way to ensure the electrons consumed by Yarmouth are generated by solar power. All generators in New England, regardless of source, are connected to a common grid. This electricity is then distributed to homes and businesses throughout New England. So when Yarmouth enters into this agreement, they are not purchasing solar-generated electricity exclusively, but electricity from a variety of sources. Roughly 50-60% of the electricity generated in New England is from natural gas. Renewable energy (wind, solar, biomass, trash, landfill gas) only make up about 10%. The rest is from nuclear, hydro and a small amount of oil and coal.
The 9 cents mentioned in this article should be investigated. If that’s for electricity only, the standard offer right now through CMP is 7.8 cents. If it’s all-in, then that’s a pretty good rate because CMP is about 14 cents.
Mike Bradford
Yarmouth
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