Post by Logan on Apr 16, 2016 9:12:41 GMT -6
AUGUSTA — In a last-minute bid to help Maine's struggling biomass industry, the Legislature on Friday approved $13.4 million in aid aimed at keeping four working plants, including those in Stratton and Livermore Falls, open for another two years.
The bill gained broad bipartisan support, even from fiscal conservatives who had vowed they wouldn't increase any state spending in 2016.
"I stand before you today as somebody who doesn't believe in a lot of subsidies for a lot of things," said Rep. Jeff Timberlake, R-Turner. "I'm going to vote for this because of the friends I have in this industry and who I represent."
Timberlake said the vote was a difficult one for him because he knew, given the current state of Maine's forest products industry coupled with reductions in the cost of other types of energy, including oil, the days of biomass-generated energy in Maine were numbered.
Read more: www.sunjournal.com/news/maine/2016/04/16/bill-biomass-life-support-approved-maine-legislature/1908035
The bill gained broad bipartisan support, even from fiscal conservatives who had vowed they wouldn't increase any state spending in 2016.
"I stand before you today as somebody who doesn't believe in a lot of subsidies for a lot of things," said Rep. Jeff Timberlake, R-Turner. "I'm going to vote for this because of the friends I have in this industry and who I represent."
Timberlake said the vote was a difficult one for him because he knew, given the current state of Maine's forest products industry coupled with reductions in the cost of other types of energy, including oil, the days of biomass-generated energy in Maine were numbered.
Read more: www.sunjournal.com/news/maine/2016/04/16/bill-biomass-life-support-approved-maine-legislature/1908035