PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 24, 2021
In his Dec. 18 Maine Voices column about the role of the state’s solar policies, University of Southern Maine professor Joseph W. McDonnell is wrong on a number of fronts. He misrepresents Maine’s net metering solar policy as a state subsidy, which it is not. He misrepresents who pays for the transmission and distribution costs for the solar energy, and he fails to focus on the real reason why electricity rates have spiked this winter. McDonnell was previously an executive at Long Island Lighting Co., an electrical and natural gas utility notorious for its high rates. No wonder his eyes are on the wrong target. Instead of raising mythical concerns about the cost of solar development, he should be focused on the real rate increases Mainers are suffering from because of the unreliability of natural gas. ~ David Kuchta, Portland