Download letter as pdf file here.

Congratulations to the many many citizens throughout the region who worked hard for 2.5 years to point out the fallacies and issues with the PATH project.  Notably:  Doug and Peg Kaplan and Chad and Karen Baker.

Maryland has its fair share of old and dirty coal-fired power plants.  One of the oldest and dirtiest is the R Paul Smith coal-fired power plant in Williamsport MD, just outside of Hagerstown.  Allegheny Energy, the corporate owner, managed to obtain a new water pollution permit for its onsite coal ash disposal that is severely lacking in restrictions for heavy metal pollution. This permit process  will have major impacts on the future of the plant, as well as the health of the surrounding communities and environment.

The Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Environmental Integrity Project, Sierra Club, and Clean Water Action are hosting an educational community forum on February 3rd at the Williamsport Public Library (104 East Potomac Street) to discuss impacts and provide information about the latest water pollution permit and air pollution data from the plant.  Come to learn more and become involved. RSVP today!!

Offshore wind is NOT A DONE DEAL.  Significant regulatory and market barriers exist at the state and national level that stand in the way of developing Maryland’s offshore wind potential (and jobs!). Our delegation is critical to helping push this forward.  Please write to your senators and delegates to express your support with key points.

Offshore wind can:

• produce the equivalent of two thirds of Maryland’s current electricity demand
• offer clean, emission-free energy
• create  4000 manufacturing jobs and many more in construction and operations
• improve electric reliability and price stability  - wind energy can power cars and homes with locked in prices since the source is inexhaustible and free!
• allow greater independence from price fluctuations of oil, coal and gas commodities – noting that electricity bills have risen 75 % in Maryland since 2002
• provide an offset energy source to negate the need for the current PATH and substation plans – thus avoiding the tremendous strife and personal property damage  that will occur by bringing dirty coal energy through Frederick County

In the 2011 Maryland General Assembly session, our state has a huge opportunity to move ahead with renewable energy and towards energy independence.  Google has agreed to contribute an estimated $5 billion for an undersea cable project that will stretch 350 miles from New Jersey to Virginia with the capacity to connect 6,000 megawatts of offshore wind turbines to nearly 2 million homes.

In September one county board will consider whether the PATH project is consistent with the county’s comprehensive plan; another will consider a zoning exception to permit a substation near Mount Airy. This “Kemptown” substation will be the terminus of a 275-mile transmission line from a coal-burning plant in West Virginia.No PATH energy is for us; it will pass through the county, headed farther east. But we’ll pay in loss of scenic views, lowered property values, and runoff from its 200-foot-wide right of way. Over 1,300 households near the Kemptown substation may also lose peace of mind, worrying that their water wells would be ruined if fire should cause a transformer meltdown.

We will pay plenty out of pocket, too. Federal law gives Allegheny a 14.3 percent return for PATH, paid by all customers, not just PATH users. It’s also ironic that we’re all paying already, through add-ons to our bills!

For example, Allegheny is recovering $2.1 million from us for its ads in 2008 and 2009 to sell us on PATH! So we’re paying to be lobbied for something that gives us no benefit — some deal!

NICHOLAS CARRERA

Urbana

http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/opinion/display_lte.htm?storyid=109340

Take the Survey!

EmPOWER CLEAN ENERGY Communities Grant Winner to Dedicate and Explain New Thermal-Solar System on location with an energy legislation update by Maryland Assembly Delegate Sue Hecht and an update on Maryland’s Clean Energy Center Executive Director,  I. Katherine Magruder.

Curtis Nelson, Principle of NCP Solar/Nelson Commercial Plumbing of Frederick, local vendor/installer of the Claggett Center’s thermal solar system, will provide a program about the features and benefits of thermal solar systems. He will have a cutaway model of a thermal solar system and photos available to demonstrate the Claggett Center installation.   EmPOWER CLEAN ENERGY Communities  grant supported installation of a thermal solar hot water system that now uses the renewable energy of sunshine to pre-heat water used in the Bishop Claggett Center’s institutional kitchen dishwashing system. The system is expected to offset annually the need for approximately 100 therms of gas with clean renewable energy. According to Malcolm Woolf, Director of the Maryland Energy Administration who toured the installation earlier, “The Maryland Energy Administration is thrilled to partner with the Bishop Claggett Center through the O’Malley-Brown administration’s EmPOWERing Clean Communities initiative to make continued strides in realizing our shared energy efficiency goals,” commented MEA Director Malcolm Woolf, “This marks yet another big step forward in meeting our State’s EmPOWER Maryland goal of 15% reduced energy consumption by 2015.”  Come and learn about the new thermal solar installation “pre-heating” the water used in the Bishop Claggett Center’s kitchen.

Location:  Bishop Claggett Conference Center 3035 Buckeystown Pike , Buckeystown, 21717

The program is free and open to the public.

Please RSVP to Stuart at 301-874-5147 X103

The Sugar Loaf Conservancy asks that you write letters and attend the House Economic Matters Committee public hearing on HB 1535 this coming Tuesday, March 30^th at 1 pm in ANNAPOLIS!

This bill will prohibit the Public Service Commission (PSC) from accepting an application from a company that is not an electric company doing day-to-day business as an electric company – no paper LLCs and it will insure that the company have sufficient liability insurance for any eventuality.

PLEASE PLAN ON ATTENDING THIS HEARING IF YOU CAN.  Details as to location and room number will be sent over the weekend. Whether or not you can attend, we need to flood the legislators on this committee with emails and faxes thanking Sue Hecht for sponsoring this bill and asking all other legislators to support the bill.  In your letter to Sue Hecht please thank her for the letter she sent to the PSC asking them to delay its consideration of the PATH procedural issues until after the General Assembly completes it session.

You can go to the Maryland General Assembly site http://mlis.state.md.us/mgaweb/mail32.aspx and you can email legislators directly from there or see our attached list of committee members. A suggested form letter will be sent this weekend.

Douglas S. Kaplan

President

Sugarloaf Conservancy

www.sugarloafconservancy.org

www.nomoretowers.org

For information, or to help, contact:  Douglas Kaplan, President, Sugarloaf Conservancy,  Doug.Kaplan@SugarloafConservancy.org,  (301) 874 –0584

The staff of the State Corporation Council (SCC) has filed its testimony with the Commission.  In the testimony they stated that there is no need or justification for PATH.   Previously expert testimony also proved that there was no need for PATH.

We first want to thank all those in Virginia who have worked so hard to reach this milestone.  The battle is far from over, but this news is very welcomed.  The testimony is voluminous and the following are a few of the conclusions that can be found in the testimony

Based on the testimony of Staff Witness Wilson as well as my own observations regarding PJM Mid-Atlantic electric loads, I believe that PJM’s peak load forecast is too high. My view is that load levels in PJM that would necessitate the construction of this project will not be realized until at least two years later than stated by the Applicants in their original Application in this matter. As such, net ratepayer benefits of at least $320 million are obtained by deferring this project for at least those two years.

Based on my transmission planning experience and professional judgment, it is my opinion that an adequate transmission reliability/needs justification has not been established for the PATH Project. I explain in my testimony that the electrical needs analysis falls short as a result of: 1) unrealistic, overly-stressed 2013 and 2014 base cases due to flawed data and modeling assumptions; 2) insufficient, missing and inconclusive studies; and 3) inadequate alternatives analysis.

If you would like to look at the testimony please click on:  http://docket.scc.virginia.gov/vaprod/main.asp and “Search” for case number PUE-2009-00043 and click on “Documents” .  The documents are dated December 8, 2009 and are marked Parts 1-5.

Sugarloaf Conservancy supports this testimony and asks Allegheny Energy and PJM to review these filings with an open mind.  We ask that they go beyond the guaranteed rate of return on their investment and withdraw the applications in Virginia and West Virginia.  We do not believe it is in the best interest of their customers who will continue to pay for the costs of continuing these cases.  The time has come for PJM and Allegheny to accept the fact that these lines are not needed.