East Bay Energy Consortium: What Happened and What is Next
Although the EBEC bill did not pass the House last week, its leaders would like to see it reintroduced this winter.
In 2009, the East Bay Energy Consortium (EBEC) was founded in order to explore the feasibility of combining resources across the nine East Bay municipal lines to invest in renewable energy sources. A bill to establish the group as a non-profit governmental entity, passed the Senate, but last week it was held before it got to the House.
The House Environment and Natural Resources Committee determined it should be "held for further study," which essentially, killed the bill.
“It was a bit of a disappointment that it didn’t come out of the committee to be heard on the floor,” said Jeanne-Marie Napolitano, Chair of the EBEC Board. Napolitano also serves as a City Council member for Newport.
The Board will meet within a month to determine next steps and Napolitano said she would like to see the board decide to reintroduce the bill. She said although there were originally valid concerns, several revisions addressed the major issues.
“We all had concerns,” said State Senator Louis DiPalma, who introduced the bill in the Senate. He said if the EBEC approved, he would also like to reintroduce the bill.
DiPalma said the majority of the concerns arose after the recent news that 38 Studios defaulted on a $75 million loan to the EDC. The bill initially proposed the Consortium would be a subsidiary of the EDC, which raised concerns that if they defaulted on their loans, Rhode Island taxpayers would be held liable once again.
DiPalma said the language was changed so that the Consortium would be a stand-alone entity and would be responsible for its own debts.
The new language was modeled almost word for word after the Rhode Island Interlocal Trust (“The Trust”), which is an intergovernmental insurance risk-sharing pool.
“Think of it as a blueprint,” said the Senator. “It is a two page bill,” he said.
Napolitano said since the concerns had been addressed, it was important to educate Representatives, so they would understand Rhode Island taxpayers were no longer liable. She said only a handful of legislators attended an informative breakfast that was held to explain the changes.
Another educational opportunity was lost when they were not allowed to testify at the last hearing; a decision that she attributed to what she called a “mystery letter” from Governor Lincoln Chafee. She said a board member found the letter on the packets prepared for the legislators.
The Governors letter read, “There is language in the legislation that I cannot support, including creating EBEC as a subsidiary of the Economic Development Corporation and the potential financial exposure the State would be Subject to regarding the bond financing of this project.”
DiPalma said the letter was probably a “contributing factor” in the decision to remove the EBEC’s testimony that day.
“It was very obvious he had not seen the new legislation,” said Napolitano. “It’s very unusual to come in and try to kill something like that.” She said after waiting two and a half hours, they were taken “right off” the agenda.
Four days later, the Office of the Governor’s Office wrote Napolitano an email that he supported the bill now that it was modeled after the Rhode Island Interlocal Trust.
“I always felt that he was a Governor who believed in renewable energy,” said Napolitano.
DiPalma said one rumor he had heard was that resident's electricity bills would become more expensive. He clarified that and other rumors were not accurate, because the bill did go into detail of the types of technologies or particular by-laws. It established the group as a legal governmental entity, similar to how a new business would incorporate, he explained.
The intent of the group is to not only invest in renewable energy, but also save cities and towns money, said DiPalma.
"My goal is to interact with the group and bring it back in January, in some way, shape or form," he said.
Gary Morse
10:41 am on Friday, June 15, 2012
Residents need to look at this for what it was.
The Studio 38 cronies had their sights on your electric bill and the little watched line item: the "Renewable Energy Charge".
When I testified at the Senate hearing, I brought up the point that the financials did not work using EBEC's own data.
Senator Walaska quipped that there was no problem since legislation would be passed later to to address that (i.e. increase the amount paid on the "Renewable Energy Charge" line of everybody's electric bill).
In short, this was worse than Studio 38 since the renewable charge was being viewed as an open ended stealth tax. Whatever was needed would simply be forced on National Grid by the GA.
The cronies would have a field day layering admin costs and passing those costs over to rate payers across the state on the electric bill.
This was bad legislation not only because it is a stealth tax, but it says to the business community (i.e. job creators): one more reason not to go to RI.
Joe Sousa.
12:02 pm on Friday, June 15, 2012
Why did the legislature start requiring Nationalgrid to purchase 10% of it's power from renewable sources if we cant provide it locally ? It sounds like they put the cart before the horse .
Robert E
4:53 pm on Friday, June 15, 2012
Portsmouth High School Wind Turbine is broken down again. This lemon is going to cost the town a fortune. Can you imagine 20 of these in Tiverton braking down all the time besides the energy costs the repair bill will be enormous.
William F Horan
6:23 pm on Friday, June 15, 2012
Yes, a cult of true believers has assembled - but what they want us to believe has no bases of fact. Beware of infamous revenue stream mechanics, bond & tax credit brokers! The proposal in such flux - it is difficult to believe any claims. RI can do better. Images of green - children playing, but to have the government involved in another area of our lives are unacceptable. This is a project for the private sector, to sink or swim on its merits. To have towns harness wind energy on the backs of the ratepayers is unacceptable. The cost of Wind turbine generated energy is twice that of clean natural gas facilities in RI. Like projects are failing In Europe & USA , (with massive subsidies and high electrical rates). There is no viable plan & budgets only a questionable feasibility report. RI EDC supplied funds to EBEC & it appears over $100K of this money spent on lobbyists, PR and legal fees? There must be a audit of all monies received and spent by this EBEC "non-entity". Re RI C 39-26 RES sec 39-26-1 § 39-26-1 The GA finds that: (a) The people and energy users of Rhode Island have an interest in having electricity supplied in the state come from a diversity of energy sources including renewable resources; (b) Increased use of renewable energy may have the potential to lower and stabilize future energy costs. The EBEC rigs net metering the renewable charge higher than Nat Grid can supply electricity for, how does this lower and stabilize future energy costs? Reality check!
Narragansett Warrior
9:19 am on Saturday, June 16, 2012
Linc,Signed a toll booth across the revenue stream that joins the view from the Glen to the abbutters of EBEC .Shelton and Jack need to hook up the cart or the fruit from the lemon will be impossible to eat.
Rio Sakonnet
4:06 pm on Friday, June 22, 2012
Please keep those God awful, ugly and noisy, wind turbines on the west side of the Sakonnet River. It's bad enough that a dreadfully ugly and out of place skyscraper high cell phone tower sits almost in the middle of Pardon Gray despoiling the beautifully surrounding country setting. If wind power is so great than why is China who incidentally manufactures this equipment cheaply building one new coal fired power plant a week and not using these 'not ready for prime time' technologies? Why has Spain, Europe's largest user of green technologies, stopped funding 100% of government sponsored green projects? The answer's easy..... green technology is years, perhaps decades, away from being feasible and the Greenies just don't want to face nor accept that scientific fact. Remember Ted Kennedy stopped a wind farm from being built off the coast of Cape Code because it ruined the view for Mary Jo Kopechne's 'friend' and more importantly it also needed to be 5miles X 5miles (25 sq. miles) in size to be of any use! Picture in your mind's eye a 25 sq. mile wind farm rather than a big blue beautiful ocean as the view off Sakonnet Point.