Bill May Fuel Mars Hill Wind Farm
Posted on: Thursday, 28 July 2005, 15:00 CDT
Jul. 28--A tax credit that can bring the Mars Hill wind energy project to fruition has been included in the final federal energy bill, Maine's senators said Wednesday. Final votes on the measure could come this week.
Evergreen Wind Power LLC has been waiting on the tax incentive before beginning construction on Maine's first wind farm -- 30 turbines atop Mars Hill Mountain in central Aroostook County.
The credit would provide renewable energy producers with a 1.9 cent per kilowatt-hour benefit for 10 years. However, to qualify, wind and biomass operations must complete construction between the beginning of 2006 and the end of 2008.
Evergreen hopes to break ground this fall and complete the project by early 2006.
Without the tax credit, the $68 million wind development project would be 30 percent more expensive, according to Peter Gish, managing director of UPC Wind Partners, Evergreen's parent company.
Initially, the senate version of the energy bill had proposed a renewable energy tax credit for three years.
The house bill included no such provision. During conferences Tuesday, members from both chambers agreed to the two-year compromise.
Supporters hope the energy bill could come up for a final vote by the end of this week. Republican Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins and Democratic Rep. Michael Michaud have all supported the credit.
However, legislators are scheduled to recess for nearly a month starting next week, and may delay the vote until after they return, a Senate spokesman said Wednesday.
-----
To see more of the Bangor Daily News, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.bangordailynews.com.
Copyright (c) 2005, Bangor Daily News, Maine
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.
For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.
Source: Bangor Daily News (Bangor, Maine)
Related Articles
- Whole Foods Market(R) Helps Fund New Wind Farm, Makes Landmark Purchase of Wind Energy Credits
- FirstEnergy Solutions Provides Wind Energy Credits for Cleveland Cavaliers Game
- Peco Signs Agreement With Iberdrola to Purchase Wind Energy Credits
- PECO Signs Agreement For Wind Energy Credit Purchase
- Focus on the World Wind Energy Market
- Mortenson Construction to Power U.S. Offices With Wind Energy
- Wind Energy America Inc. And Boreal Energy Inc. Enter Into LOI for Business Combination
- Sterling Planet Supplies 18 Million kWh of Wind Energy Credits to National Envelope
- Vail Resorts to Offset Energy Use With Wind Power Credits
- Whole Foods Market(R) Makes Largest Ever Purchase of Wind Energy Credits in United States
 |
 |
User Comments (0)
RSS Feeds