Mainebiz

J a m e S M C C a r T H Y , Mainebiz senior writer, can be reached at J m C C a r T H Y @ m a i n e b i z . b i z and @ J a m e S M a i n e b i z . I N S I D E T H E N OT E B O O K VO L . X X I I N O. X V I J U LY 1 1 , 2 0 1 6 24 I n reporting my story "Myth or fact: How do energy costs in Maine stack up to the nation?" in the June 27 issue of Mainebiz, I realized early in the process that whatever I wrote would be merely the tip of the iceberg. at's because the challenge of lowering our electricity costs — which are the low- est in New England but remain a chal- lenge for Maine businesses competing against companies in regions of the United States with signifi cantly lower electricity costs — is by no means a simple question with a clear solution that works equally well for everyone. So it came as a surprise to me that the speakers at a June 10 panel discussion on Maine's future energy mix hosted by the OceanView at Falmouth Retirement Community — namely, Fortunat Mueller of ReVision Energy; Claudette Townsend, director of new products and services at Dead River; Tony Buxton, chairman of the energy group at Preti Flaherty; and Naomi Beal, director of passivhaus- MAINE — were able to fi nd a good deal of common ground. I was expecting fi reworks. Instead, I heard Buxton make nuanced argu- ments about the role natural gas is playing as a "bridge" that will help us transition to a future energy mix of solar, wind and other renewable energy sources, with everyone agree- ing that it's vitally important to con- tinue investing in energy effi ciency to reduce heating and electricity costs. "We're a fan of using less; whatever it is. And having multiple options," said Townsend, who envisions a "very diversifi ed" mix of energy sources in Maine by 2050. e transition away from heating oil is well under way, she added, with heating oil consump- tion having gone down 43% since 2004. "More and more, consumers are fi nding ways to have diverse choices within their own homes … Some of that 43% is due to diversifi cation, but a lot is about effi ciency." Putting effi ciency fi rst is the focus of passivhausMaine, which follows the construction and design principles developed in Germany that result in buildings that require 90% less energy for heating than buildings of traditional design. Beal cited the new Friends School of Portland, on Route 1 in Cumberland Foreside, as a prime example of the benefi ts: With pas- sivhaus design, the building didn't need to be connected to the natural gas line and uses solar as its main power source. Mueller, for his part, cited Stanford University scientist Mark Jacobson's 50-state roadmap for transforming the country from dependence on fossil fuels to 100% renewable energy by 2050. Jacobson projects that solar power will supply a little more than 20% of Maine's total renewable energy mix in 2050, with 5.4% coming from residential rooftop solar and 15% from utility-scale solar power plants and 1.8% from com- mercial or government rooftop solar. Off shore wind is pegged at 35% of the mix, onshore wind at 35%, wave devices at 1%, hydroelectric at 5.8% and tidal turbines at 1%. It also predicts Maine's average energy costs for power derived from wind, water and solar would be 11.4-cents-per-kilowatt hour in 2050 — pegging the business-as-usual energy costs for continuing with fossil fuels and nuclear power at 11 cents/kwh in 2050, with another 5.7 cents/kwh included for health and climate change costs result- ing from fossil fuels. Ambitious? Yes. Achievable? Mueller thinks so. "I tend to think that 2050 is roughly the right time period," he said. Getting to 100% renewable energy by 2050 On behalf of the Institute for Family Owned Business (IFOB), we send our sincere condolences to the entire Hussey family. Tim Hussey was our friend, a business leader and a true son of Maine. He will be greatly missed by us all! Tim contributed significantly to family businesses in Maine with Hussey Seating Company being ranked by the Family Business Magazine as the 50th oldest family business in America, founded in 1835. Hussey Seating Company was one of the 20 family-owned companies that started the IFOB in 1994. In 2003, Hussey Seating Company won the Large Family Business Award at the Institute's Maine Family Business Awards Dinner. Several years ago, Tim helped start CEO Central, a quarterly dinner discussion group exclusively for Maine family business CEOs. In 2014, Tim was a panelist at the IFOB's Maine Family Business Awards and graciously gave his family business wisdom to those in attendance. In 2015, Tim and his family hosted a Family Business Spotlight in their Product Showroom at Hussey Seating and gave away the "Best Seat in the House." P.O. Box 3364, Portland, Maine 04104 207-798-2667 • www.fambusiness.org The Institute for Family- Owned Business (IFOB) would like to honor the late Timothy B. Hussey, President and CEO of Hussey Seating Company. Tim was an inspiration and incredible leader to us all. He will be greatly missed. I was expecting fi reworks. I was expecting fi reworks. I was expecting fi reworks. I was expecting fi reworks. I was expecting fi reworks. I was expecting fi reworks. I was expecting fi reworks. I was expecting fi reworks. I was expecting fi reworks. I was expecting fi reworks. I was expecting fi reworks. I was expecting fi reworks. I was expecting fi reworks. I was expecting fi reworks. Instead, I heard [one Instead, I heard [one Instead, I heard [one Instead, I heard [one Instead, I heard [one Instead, I heard [one Instead, I heard [one Instead, I heard [one Instead, I heard [one Instead, I heard [one Instead, I heard [one Instead, I heard [one Instead, I heard [one speaker] make nuanced arguments about the role natural gas is playing as a 'bridge' that will help us transition to a future energy mix of solar, wind and other renewable energy sources.

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