BAR HARBOR - May 22, 2024 - As expected, the Town Council last night shelved the $5 million project to build a municipal solar farm on 40 acres of brown field on Rt. 3. Councilman Gary Friedmann, principal supporter of the project, actually made the motion which was passed unanimously “to designate the town manager to pursue other options for reducing the town's emissions and generating renewable electricity that would ultimately achieve the same objectives as Higgins Pit.
Good day Kyle, thanks for your reply. I am disappointed that the town commits financially to something without having the facts. I do not believe we should spend good money after bad. With the price of real estate on the island, why does the town not sell this property? It may then be developed privately, possibly for solar endeavors as originally thought. The fundamental issues with solar are that it only works at the expense of higher rates for all and creates a major environmental disposal problem at end of life which nobody is addressing (lets forget that it greatly benefits Communist China as a supplier). I certainly hope that more due diligence was done for the much larger school project!!
Good evening Bob. Unfortunately, there’s no way to credit this back into the budget (by this, I mean the several hundred thousand dollars spent on site work, consultants, etc.), and we will still owe bond payments (principal + coupon) for the lifetime of the bond (I believe twenty years but would have to double check).
Even if we took the remainder and paid the principal down early - and not even entirely sure we can do that as a municipality - we’d still owe the remaining bond value, somewhere north of another $1M.
So the goal should (in my mind) be to utilize the remaining budget to maximize the goals of the original bond (increase municipal use of solar energy) while also reducing expenses (hopefully getting as much bang for the back and reducing utility costs as much as possible across the government-owned buildings).
Another case of the town going and doing something without really knowing what they are getting into. I am glad I did not vote for that bond. By the way, has anyone figured out what to do with those worn out solar panels when they are end of life? Another upcoming issue....
A bit disheartening to read this report. It illustrates the clash between a community’s needs and a monopoly corporation’s short term objectives. Conventional ROI concerns discount longer-term benefits and “externalize” costs and risks — typically those that accrue to the community rather than the corporation. Thank you, Lincoln, for covering the issue…and thank you, Gary, for pushing it forward. Pine Tree Power, anyone?
Quote: "we have a climate emergency and to do everything possible...."
Try figuring out a way to ship fresh water to India to replace the vast tonnage of groundwater pumped out of their aquifers, which mass removal has caused the earth's axis to tilt further, thus increasing storm intensity and changing temperate-zone temperature levels. Amazing how much damage 1.3 billion people can do just pumping water.
I would describe the physics involved further, but the intellectuals on this forum would jump down my throat with reckless abandon, as so shamelessly done in the past, so you folks figure it out.
Good day Kyle, thanks for your reply. I am disappointed that the town commits financially to something without having the facts. I do not believe we should spend good money after bad. With the price of real estate on the island, why does the town not sell this property? It may then be developed privately, possibly for solar endeavors as originally thought. The fundamental issues with solar are that it only works at the expense of higher rates for all and creates a major environmental disposal problem at end of life which nobody is addressing (lets forget that it greatly benefits Communist China as a supplier). I certainly hope that more due diligence was done for the much larger school project!!
How do we credit this back to the budget? How much does this reduce the upcoming 15% property tax hike?
Good evening Bob. Unfortunately, there’s no way to credit this back into the budget (by this, I mean the several hundred thousand dollars spent on site work, consultants, etc.), and we will still owe bond payments (principal + coupon) for the lifetime of the bond (I believe twenty years but would have to double check).
Even if we took the remainder and paid the principal down early - and not even entirely sure we can do that as a municipality - we’d still owe the remaining bond value, somewhere north of another $1M.
So the goal should (in my mind) be to utilize the remaining budget to maximize the goals of the original bond (increase municipal use of solar energy) while also reducing expenses (hopefully getting as much bang for the back and reducing utility costs as much as possible across the government-owned buildings).
Another case of the town going and doing something without really knowing what they are getting into. I am glad I did not vote for that bond. By the way, has anyone figured out what to do with those worn out solar panels when they are end of life? Another upcoming issue....
A bit disheartening to read this report. It illustrates the clash between a community’s needs and a monopoly corporation’s short term objectives. Conventional ROI concerns discount longer-term benefits and “externalize” costs and risks — typically those that accrue to the community rather than the corporation. Thank you, Lincoln, for covering the issue…and thank you, Gary, for pushing it forward. Pine Tree Power, anyone?
Quote: "we have a climate emergency and to do everything possible...."
Try figuring out a way to ship fresh water to India to replace the vast tonnage of groundwater pumped out of their aquifers, which mass removal has caused the earth's axis to tilt further, thus increasing storm intensity and changing temperate-zone temperature levels. Amazing how much damage 1.3 billion people can do just pumping water.
I would describe the physics involved further, but the intellectuals on this forum would jump down my throat with reckless abandon, as so shamelessly done in the past, so you folks figure it out.
Yes!
“.... every single rooftop that the town owns and the schools should be covered with solar panels."