Drafting a letter to the PUC to eliminate transmission charges to biomass plants or for the PUC to argue for the charge s elimination at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. For the last 15 years, Maine has, correctly, supported our own indigenous renewable energy producers. This support makes local and state economic sense, protects and enhances the environment, and provides for state fuel diversity and price stability. It is also an attractive alternative fuel for vehicles as well as a fuel for powering fuel cells. Use of ethanol in gasoline also has the ability to reduce the air toxics.
Ethanol also has the equally important value of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
A US Department of Energy report, Emission and Reduction of Greenhouse Gases from Agriculture and Food Manufacturing, concludes that the agricultural and forestry sectors could help reduce greenhouse gas emissions by producing and using more bio-based products, fuels and power. We can Get there from Here. The speakers discussed the possibility of opening an ethanol plant in Maine, probably using as feedstock cellulosic materials coming from the forest products industry or a combination including livestock, agricultural, municipal, paper mill and other industrial wastes. Thus, the theoretical total could be between 2.7 million and 5.9 million tons. Gahagan and Associates from Presque Isle has joined a team that is exploring the technical, economic and environmental potential of developing a biomass to ethanol fuel industry in Maine.