David Cole’s Jan. 26 BDN OpEd supporting the proposed propane tank in Searsport is wrong on a number of levels.
His assertion that Maine needs the propane is a canard. It is unfortunate that 5 percent of Mainers heat with propane, as it is the most expensive fuel in the state, but they don’t need Searsport and they won’t benefit if the terminal is built here. Only DCP Midstream, the developer, will benefit.
The company’s costs will be lowered because shipping by water is cheaper than by rail or truck. It might expect to save 50 cents a gallon. That’s $25 million a year at its volumes. It will use that competitive advantage to dominate the region and drive every competitor out of the market. Why else does it appear to be planning to bring in quantities that exceed Maine’s annual consumption of propane by 20 percent or more, using DCP’s own numbers?
And the tale of “The Winter of ’07” is getting old. There are many who believe that the propane tightness was exacerbated by market manipulation and the strike just added to the drama.
But let’s says it’s all true and that the mean, cold winter and rail strike in Canada caused the shortage in 2007 that sent propane users scrambling. Let’s suppose we build the terminal and another mean, cold winter hits. Mean, cold winters in Searsport are the norm, and often mean ice and snowstorms and power outages, as well. They can last for days, sometimes longer.
The propane terminal can’t load out without power and must burn off the gas instead. Now, all of Maine’s propane stocks are located in Searsport and this time, everyone does run out. How is energy security advanced by concentrating all the propane in one, vulnerable place?
What Mainers need is access to the cheap natural gas that runs through the state.
Mr. Cole was at the the Searsport town hall for the DCP “informational meeting.” He saw the packed, standing-room-only house. He heard the questions and angry comments from the Searsport residents who are frustrated with the way DCP has abused the permitting process. He felt, as we all did, the sentiment against the terminal in that room.
Even with DCP salting the room with supporters, those supporters numbered under 10 percent, and most of them were not from Searsport. The BDN estimated the crowd at 350, most of whom said they lived in Searsport. The crowd’s position was clear. The townspeople are opposed, and given an up or down vote there would be no terminal.
Unfortunately, we were forbidden to discuss DCP’s tank at the 2010 annual town meeting, when the increased height ordinance was approved by 12 votes.
Neither Searsport nor Maine will gain many jobs from more imports.
Why not work to bring sustainable exports to Mack Point so Searsport and all Mainers could benefit? Mr. Cole might consider exerting his influence on Sprague to get it to put in the high-speed bulk loading and unloading capacity that the Mack Point terminal needs to be competitive exporting Maine’s biomass to waiting markets in Europe.
As to DCP’s propane terminal, the people of Searsport and the people of the North Penobscot Bay region don’t want it.
David Italiaander was an agricultural commodities trader for over 33 years ands is currently a consultant on fats, oils and biofuel feedstocks. He lives in Searsport.
A fat cat commodities trader bravely crusading against a propane tank in the name of truth, justice, and the American way. Helen Keller could see the unholy alliance between the wealthy and unwashed environmentalists. The Irving station will be next.
This piece is filled with lies and disinformation. BDN do you even bother to fact check what you are printing?
The editorial looked good to me. What facts are wrong?
I doubt you’ll get an answer. Some trolls like to snipe. Then again, some of them are paid. DCP Midstream has tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars tied up in this project and there’s no telling what dirty tricks they’re prepared to employ.
Right now DCP is attempting to interfere in a local town meeting decision. This week they’ve rounded up a gang of marginally employed young people and are paying them $100 a day to go door-to-door in Searsport urging people to vote at the March 10 annual town meeting against a citizen-initiated moratorium on LPG development. The moratorium would merely provide a time-out while townspeople sort out the potential impact of this gargantuan industrial development on safety, security, property values, existing businesses and way of life and to suggest corrective steps through possible ordinance changes to be decided at a subsequent town meeting.
Sounds like a very democratic exercise, doesn’t it? DCP is doing its best to subvert the process. Imagine that.
Propane is not the most expensive fuel; but you have to know all the contributing factors. Such as the fact that propane boilers are typically more efficient than oil, albeit by a small margin. When comparing unit volumes of heating oil to propane, you have about 140,000 BTUs per gallon of heating oil to 90,000 BTUs per gallon of fuel oil. My last delivery (this past Monday) of propane was at a price of $2.38.9 per gallon. I am being told that heating oil is running around $3.50 per gallon. With their respective heat content and at those prices, propane is competitive with heating oil.
I don’t think Mr. Italiaander’s article is incorrect. I think it is heavily skewed towards someone who does not support the propane terminal in Searsport. The United States comprises some 4% of the world’s population, but we consume some 25% of the energy resources. We need all of the alternative energy sources that are available, including wind, solar, tidal, hydro, nuclear, natural gas and propane. And, we need an energy conservation program of a magnitude not seen since the second world war.
The elite green agenda VS sound energy policy.
Why is there even a debate????
Mr. Italiaander makes a lot of sense and given his professional background and expertise he just might know what he’s talking about.
It should also be noted that the National Petroleum Council, the quasi-government agency established to promote the oil and gas industry, reports (Sept. 15, 2011) that propane use as a primary heating fuel is declining all over the country as both home and business owners take advantage of a glut of far cheaper natural gas produced domestically. Even now natural gas pipelines have expanded out through the greater Bangor metropolitan area, serious planning has begun to bring service to the Rockland area, to Bucksport, and now there is talk of Belfast being served. Can Searsport itself, focus of the unnecessary monstrosity of Big Tank, be far behind?
ConocoPhillips and Duke Energy, two of the largest energy commodity companies in the world, are currently expanding operations at a ferocious pace to take advantage of a largely unsung boom in domestic oil and gas production over just the past five years, one that in 2011 transformed the U.S. into a net exporter of petroleum products for the first time since 1949. Many people may not realize this but thanks to recently developed horizontally guided drilling and “fracking” technology in shale basins across the nation including in the northeast, the continental United States now rivals Saudi Arabia for top spot at world production.
DCP Midstream LLC, DCP Midstream Partners and all their various corporate siblings and cousins including, we’re told, an actual DCP Midstream Searsport, are a regular Russian doll collection of corporate legal entities that with varying liability-limiting and tax-avoidance functions front for ConocoPhillips (itself soon to divide into its original parent parts) and Duke Energy (as represented in its gas operations by Spectra Energy).
It’s hard to tell what DCP (the short name) has in mind for its proposed Searsport operation but the earnest claim they just want to ensure Maine’s energy security is clearly
— as bogus as the claim no one will really notice this unprotected 14-story behemoth looming over Route 1 and Penobscot Bay containing enough volatile liquid fuel (almost 23 million gallons) to tempt foreign and domestic terrorists to fill the gap left by tourists who no longer come here;
— as bogus as the claim no one will really notice the additional 30 percent increase in traffic in and out of Mack Point as 50-ton tanker trucks, in the event of accident veritable 10,000-gallon propane bombs, pulverize our local roads, sometimes by the company’s own estimate especially when roads are iciest almost an additional 300 trucks a day;
— as bogus as the claim they plan to shower the town with $70,000 jobs plus benefits for locals with only GEDs and boost our tax base in some significant way;
— as bogus as the claim we really won’t lose scores of existing jobs provided by local small businesses, most of these dependent on tourism-related enterprises, nearly all of them certainly embracing an existing traditional small town way of life that natives have chosen and that by their presence and considerable local investment retirees and entrepreneurs from away have endorsed fully as well;
— as bogus as the claim DCP will bring general prosperity to Searsport, that the dawning perception of Big Tank as marking Searsport’s unwilling transformation into another gritty industrial town won’t be enough to send local home, land and business values spiraling downward, making some properties all but unsalable, ultimately ensuring everybody’s property tax burden is heavier.
Mr. Taber, you are being somewhat misleading when you suggest natural gas as an alternative to propane here in Maine. Mr. Italiaander did something of the same when he said that, “5 percent of Mainers heat with propane”. While this number may be true, how many Maine households use propane for cooking and hot water heating? And you can’t seriously suggest natural gas as an alternative. How many Maine homes have access to the very limited distribution lines?
I don’t know the would-be proprietors of this facility anymore than the next guy. So tell me, why would they spend millions of dollares to construct this facility if there were not a need?
Two thirds of the propane used in Maine goes for primary heat. While many residents of the state will probably never be close enough to be serviced by natural gas pipelines and will continue to use propane, it appears that at least for the foreseeable future the total number of Mainers using propane will diminish.
It would only take four ships a year into Mack Point to supply Maine’s present propane needs and DCP is talking about seven or more. Perhaps, as Mr. Italiaander suggests, DCP is trying to dominate competition. Perhaps they’re planning to extend propane distribution operations into the Maritimes. Perhaps they’re looking to lessen their liability and consequently their insurance costs by transferring operations from more densely populated areas where they have bulk storage operations to little Searsport with its small population and what they mistakenly presume are its compliant citizens who will buy any tripe promised them about $70,000 jobs with benefits for locals with GED certificates.
I don’t doubt there’s a highly lucrative motive behind this project — lucrative for ConocoPhilliups and Duke Energy but destructive to almost everyone else. However, transparency from this cynical company is not something we really expect. Now that they have an office set up in our community they’ve just this week gotten to work sending $100-a-day canvassers door-to-door in an outside bid to subvert the democratic process by propagandizing against a strongly supported citizen-initiated moratorium question on Big Tank at our March 10 annual town meeting.
If you had GED, Pete, you could have one of those $70k/year jobs. I’ll be applying for one, that’s for sure.
“David Italiaander was an agricultural commodities trader for over
33 years and is currently a consultant on fats, oils and biofuel
feedstocks. He lives in Searsport.”
We certainly wouldn’t want anyone to provide a product at a more reasonable price especially in a state where the cost of heating is so expensive. certainly not from a man whose job is to consult (promote) certain biofuels that costs currently prohibit the use of due to economic non-feasibility. Only way to make that work is to keep the cost of conventional fuels as high as possible by opposing by any means available all projects which threaten to make life more affordable for the average Maine resident. Divert commodities from the grocery store to the cost intensive bioalcohol and mandate the use thereof, thereby increasing the cost of food for all people. Going grocery shopping is really cheap. Yeah, right.
Certainly no conflict here, nothing to see. Move along, move along.
Rebbeccas_Key,
You should know that my work in biofuel feedstocks is exclusively dedicated to non-food feedstocks such as algae and cyanobacteria and the cellulosic sugars in Maine’s biomass.
I have long been a vocal opponent of corn ethanol as well as fats and oils based biodiesel.
You should not burn food for fuel.
10 million non-food acres could produce enough algal oil to meet the nations liquid fuel needs. We farm over 300 million acres. True energy independence is possible.