Near the end of April, clean energy employees and union workers gathered at Maine’s state house in Augusta to advocate for preserving energy tax credits, including the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) and Production Tax Credit (PTC). Both amount to about 30% of a project’s cost, but the former rewards capital investments in infrastructure projects, while the latter depends on the amount of energy produced by the facility. The Maine Labor Climate Council, the Maine AFL-CIO union, and the Maine Building and Construction Trades Council co-hosted the press conference in the face of a possible rollback of these incentives.
According to the Maine Labor Climate Council, 145 utility-scale projects in the state that are either already operating or in the development pipeline are eligible for one of these credits. The projects, spanning communities including Aroostook County, Cherryfield, Clinton, Gorham, Lincoln, and Moscow, amount to $8.8 billion in investments and support over 9,100 jobs. These tax credits contribute to a more reliable grid and lower energy costs for ratepayers. They also boost local economies, provide opportunities for workers advancing out of apprenticeship programs, and create jobs paying prevailing wages. Maine, in particular, has lots of rural space that could use the credits to support even more new projects and employment.
Francis Eanes, executive director of the Maine Labor Climate Council, explained to the Maine Morning Star, “These clean energy tax credits — which have been in force now for more than two years — they are working. They are doing exactly what they are intended to do: lowering Mainers’ energy bills, investing in good-paying jobs right here at home, and powering Maine with independent, homegrown energy. Win. Win. Win.” However, he told Mainebiz that some projects are being delayed in the face of uncertainty: “Will the projects happen? Potentially, some might get canceled, some might get delayed. But we’ve seen more projects get built over the last couple of years because of these tax credits.”
Video Courtesy Maine AFL-CIO
Among the workers who have benefited from these tax credits is Chad Ward, from Thorndike, who has been a member of the iron workforce for 21 years and is a member of the Iron Workers Local 7 union. He said that because of clean energy projects, he could buy land and build a home for his family, and that the tax credits create those kinds of jobs and reduce costs. These incentives therefore create opportunities for younger people, like his 16-year-old son, to find employment in Maine and create lives for themselves there. “Bring more clean energy jobs to Maine and we will help younger generations stay in the state with good family-sustaining jobs. We can’t afford to vote no on any clean energy investments,” he stated.
Ward warned Mainebiz, “If Washington, D.C., shoots down clean energy tax credits, projects creating jobs will come to a screeching halt.” He had to travel out of state throughout his career for work, and he does not want the same for his children. He added to PV Magazine, “I do not want my family to have to move out of state to find better work.” Jason Shedlock, president of the Maine State Building and Construction Trades Council, explained, “When we have to leave the state, we have to leave our families to make a family-sustaining wage. It just doesn’t seem right. You’re making a wage while missing family events.”
Meanwhile, Hayley Lawrence, from Augusta, is now a member of the Laborers’ International Union of North America, but she remembers a period when she lived in her car. After completing an apprenticeship program, she found employment in the solar workforce two days after graduation and moved into an apartment. She told the Maine Morning Star that it would be a mistake to roll back credits that create jobs and opportunities for people to change their lives and contribute to a more energy-independent and resilient society. She asked Mainebiz, “This energy transition is happening. The question is, is Maine and is the United States going to be a leader in this, or are we going to sit back and watch this transition happen elsewhere and be left behind?”
Ward described the press conference, “This is a call for action for the lawmakers. We need the people making decisions about funding energy projects to listen to real working people like me. Keep investing in clean energy projects, and support the workers who are doing these projects with good wages and union protections.” The support for the credits goes way beyond the press conference, though and it seems many Mainers will continue to advocate for these investments that bring economic growth and job creation in the state.
