Gov. Janet Mills (D-Maine) announced the release of an independent study which claims that her renewable energy push has driven significant growth in the state’s economy.
The study, released Wednesday, cost taxpayers $35,000 according to the Governor’s Energy Office (GEO) which commissioned it.
“We are putting Maine people to work in rewarding, good-paying jobs that, in turn, are contributing billions to the state’s economy while helping to stabilize energy costs for households and businesses and reduce emissions that are harming our environment,” said Mills.
The new study, conducted by the BW Research Partnership, claims that Mills’ renewable energy push has led to a $2.3 billion boost to the economy.
The study, however, defines renewable energy extremely broadly, admitting any company working in “Electric Power Distribution” as a renewable energy company, meaning that the economic growth cited by Mills is not restricted to companies dedicated to renewable energy, and includes energy utilities among other businesses.
The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) passage cited by BW Research specifically mentions Avangrid, the parent company of Central Maine Power (CMP), the largest power utility in the state.
According to the study, renewable energy made up 3 percent of the state’s total economic output as of 2022.
The study also claimed that, from 2016-2022, Maine had the fastest growing renewable energy industry in the country, and that Maine’s renewable energy sector grew three times faster than the broader economy.
Mills also highlighted the study’s report that Maine currently has 15,000 people working in the renewable energy industry.
Currently, Mills’ environmental goals demand that 30,000 Mainers hold renewable energy jobs by 2030; and Mills claims that the current number puts the state in line to meet its goal.
However, if the study only counted people working directly with renewable energy, or even companies primarily focused on clean energy, the job numbers would be significantly lower.
According to the study, “clean energy workers” can include carpenters, roofers, electricians, office clerks, and cost estimators, among numerous other professions.
The number of people working in those professions vastly outstrip the numbers of people working directly with “renewable energy” sources, such as solar installers and wind turbine repairmen, which only have 109 ad 50 workers respectively.
BW Research also highlighted the “diversity” in Maine’s renewable energy industry, celebrating the higher percentage of non-white workers than other industries, while lamenting the fact that only one-quarter of the industry is made up by women.
The company focuses on renewable energy related research projects, and, although it claims not to allow pre-defined narratives to influence the results of its projects, it also has a commitment to transitioning to a “clean energy economy.”
“BW Research has a resolute commitment to equity and believes that the transition to a clean economy can present substantial economic opportunity for all, and particularly those who have been historically disadvantaged,” said BW Research.
That message comes as part of the company’s Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) commitment, where the company commits to ensuring that benefits from renewable energy are shared “equitably”, and brag about the percentage of its workers who are non-white or women.
The Maine Wire reached out to the GEO, asking whether they believed the study to be honest, given that it included companies not involved in renewable energy, but the GEO did not immediately respond.
[RELATED: Republicans Want Nuclear Power Back in Maine…]
As Mills continues to push forward with her solar and wind power programs, while funding a study which uses a broad definition to make her policies appear to benefit the state, she has consistently opposed the return of nuclear power to Maine.
Marxist Mills lies. She is drunk on power. She is a complete and utter failure for Maine people. Illegal aliens and asylum seekers before Veterans living on the street. Karma won’t be kind to her.
Why is it that Democrat paid operatives always report the complete opposite of the facts? 2.3 billion dollars was the extraction from the economy with higher electric bills. Too much gaslighting coming out of the GEO!
What a shock, dirty dems twist facts to justify bad policy and wasted money and high tax theft from citizens.
This yet another example of the blind leading the inept – Mills is completely out of touch and has been most of her adult life. Mills is fed by a staff of lackies that only want to feed her the positive spin while the rest of the population continues to suffer under her reign of terror especially with these foolish green energy ideas that simply have no place being funded by public tax dollars. It is nothing but one big lie and the rest of us are paying for the lie of green energy.
I aint believed nothing the government has said for a long time and for any of you who don’t think that this is hog wash just take a look at your electric bill, mine has doubled in the last 3 years.
More of your dollars pissed away trying to convince the rest of us the green scam is good for us. I had to laugh when I read Mills announced the release of an “independent” study and in the next line it says the govs GEO office paid for it with your tax dollars. No bias there of course. I’d venture to say that BW Research is run by left wing climate nazis who are DEI supporters which has absolutely nothing to do with supplying energy to Mainers. It is good Marxist ideology though. They, Mills and her ilk, will say and do anything to get what they want and to advance their agenda. The slide into the third world shithole continues.
This sounds about right for the left. If the facts don’t support their point of view they simply bend or downright make things up until it makes them look good. The mistruths whether by fabrication or omission are eye popping. Sadly a huge portion of Mainers simply can’t see it or downright refuse to see it as they blindly believe these people care about them.
The Mills administration is just like all those socialist idealists who think they know what’s better for you than you do yourself. They’ve convinced the voting public that conservatives are evil and only live to starve kids and throw grannie onto the street. The energy policy put in place by Maine’s equivalent of Governor Moonbeam went even further than California’s program. The money paid or credited to traditional net metering customers, as well as , the owners of these giant solar farms is exponentially more lucrative than almost all other states. Unfortunately for most of us we can’t afford her the effect it has on electric rates. Someone earlier mentioned the effect on taxes. The program is more insidious. These programs directly or indirectly affect and are paid for through the T&D portion of your electric rate. What’s even more evil about is when rates go up because of these programs CMP and Versant get the blame. Clever isn’t it. Disguise the program, pat yourself on the back, while hurting the very people who put you in charge. Janet and the lefties in the legislature ( both republicans and democrats) will get theirs in the end.
Will General Shills be silenced when the Biden regime Stasi tries to clamp down on “misinformation”