Cape Spotlight On Energy Issues As Election Day Draws Near

Candidates from several legislative races took part in an issue-specific forum at Cape Cod Community College this week, putting other topics aside to focus on energy policy.
However, as Christopher R. Powicki, president of the Cape & Islands Renewable Energy Collaborative (CIRenew) pointed out, energy policy dovetails into numerous other policy areas such as economic development, the environment, and national defense.
CIRenew co-sponsored the forum, along WCAI-FM and CCCC’s environmental technology program. Mindy Todd, host of WCAI’s “The Point,” moderated.
There were several no-shows at the Tuesday evening event, including both US Senator John F. Kerry and his Republican rival Jeffrey K. Beatty of Harwich; State Representative Jeffrey D. Perry (R - Sandwich); and Carey M. Murphy, an unenrolled Waquoit candidate challenging State Representative Matthew C. Patrick (D - Falmouth).
Mr. Patrick, as well as Mr. Perry’s opponent, Democrat Glenn S. Paré of Sandwich, got to speak unchallenged about their positions on topics ranging from the Cape Cod Wind Farm to the new Green Communities Act.
Mr. Patrick referred to the Green Communities Act several times, specifically to a “net metering” amendment he successfully inserted in the final bill. Net metering allows groups of consumers to share metering as a collective unit, so the net cost of power is reduced, and sell surplus energy at retail price.
In addition, the act raised the eligibility threshold from 69 kilowatts to two megawatts, which means more residential and small commercial and municipal projects could sell their surplus energy.
The incumbent also referred to his latest project, to investigate the merits of keeping the Mirant Canal Plant in Sandwich operating on a standby basis. The plant receives $9 million a month to remain on standby, and Mr. Patrick said that money, which comes out of ratepayers’ pockets, could be better spent on energy efficiency programs for homeowners and renewable energy facility development for towns.
Mr. Patrick stressed the increasing value of residentially based renewable energy projects, and said the state can support conversion projects through tax credits.
Mr. Paré echoed Mr. Patrick’s thoughts on the Mirant plant situation, noting that the facility is in his hometown and had in the past been identified as one of the state’s “Filthy Five,” the five most-polluting energy generation facilities in the state.
The candidate briefly explained how Sandwich’s attitude toward local renewable energy projects has changed in recent years. When he served as director of the Heritage Museums & Gardens and launched the Christmastime “Spectacle of Lights” display, Mr. Paré said he began exploring renewable energy options to offset the one million watts of power the display consumed.
Town selectmen blocked the museum’s plan to put a small wind turbine on the property, but Mr. Paré said town officials have since taken steps to ease zoning bylaws to facilitate small renewable projects. If elected, he said he would work to expand those zoning changes to benefit commercial properties.
When asked about the Cape Cod Wind Farm proposal, Mr. Paré said he was in favor of the wind farm, and said the Cape’s future as a leader in renewable energy “has to start somewhere.” However, he readily agreed that the developers did a “lousy” job in reaching out to the community early in the process.
The wind farm came up during the debate between candidates for state representative of the Barnstable, Dukes, and Nantucket District. Democratic Daniel J. Larkosh of West Tisbury immediately asserted himself as “the Cape Wind candidate,” referring to his status as the only candidate in the four-way Democratic primary race to firmly support the project.
Melissa C. Freitag of Falmouth, one of three unenrolled candidates, also voiced her support for the wind farm, while Jacob Ferreira of Vineyard Haven and Timothy R. Madden of Nantucket opposed it.
The candidates agreed that the state needed to take more aggressive measures to reduce its dependence on foreign oil, support the Green Communities Act, and support residents’ efforts to make their houses more energy efficient and more reliant on renewable energy technologies.
There were varying opinions about the growth of the “green jobs” sector. Mr. Madden focused more on providing training for people in the homebuilding industry and related trades, who could see their workload increase as homeowners pursued residential renewable energy projects.
Ms. Freitag thought “mid-tech” jobs, those requiring a slightly higher level of technical expertise, would be in high demand as homeowners took advantage of state and federal incentives to retrofit their homes. Mr. Ferreira said jobs across the spectrum could experience solid growth, and the state should leverage the state’s institutions of higher education to provide training at all levels.
Mr. Larkosh returned to the Cape Cod Wind Farm and said that project in itself would generate many new jobs for Cape Codders.
The four candidates for the Barnstable County Board of County Commissioners also weighed in on the wind farm. Republican William B. (Brad) Crowell of Dennis said county officials should work to ensure the project directly benefits Cape Codders, but refrained from taking a firm position due to his status as a member of the Cape Cod Commission.
The Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Board is preparing to hear an appeal on the CCC’s 2007 procedural denial of Cape Wind’s “development of regional impact” (DRI) application.
Democrat Sheila R. Lyons of Wellfleet said the developers fell short in their early outreach efforts, but said her support or opposition of the project would ultimately be determined by whether the US Department of the Interior’s Minerals Management Service’s approves the wind farm. That record of decision is tentatively due this winter.
Democrat Mary L. (Pat) Flynn of Falmouth said she supported the concept and would support it if the project’s benefits were proven to outweigh the detriments. Ricardo M. Barros of Centerville said he was at first opposed to the wind farm, but has since adopted a “studied neutrality” toward it. He added that he did not believe the county should spend its money on any sort of legal action pertaining to the wind farm.
All four candidates extolled the virtues of the Cape Light Compact’s energy efficiency programs for homeowners, and agreed that county officials needed to be more aggressive in promoting those energy and money-saving opportunities to homeowners.