AUGUSTA, Maine — As Senate candidate Angus King presses the state’s TV stations to pull two Republican ads from the air, his campaign is resorting to a common political tactic that rarely works in actually getting ads removed but that campaigns turn to as a way to respond to political attacks.
King’s campaign Monday called on TV stations in the Bangor, Portland and Presque Isle markets to remove two ads sponsored by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the GOP’s Senate campaign arm, that target King for his involvement in the wind energy business before he became a U.S. Senate candidate in March.
At least three stations, WLBZ 2 in Bangor, and WGME 13 and WCSH 6 in Portland, decided to continue airing the advertising after receiving King’s complaint, the general managers for those stations said. Other stations haven’t responded to requests for comment or have declined comment.
In its formal complaint to TV stations, King’s campaign cites federal law that allows stations to reject ads from third-party groups — such as the Republican senatorial committee — and requires that stations take steps to ensure the ads’ reliability. Under federal law, broadcast stations have a duty to “protect the public from false, misleading or deceptive advertising,” and they can be held liable for the content in third-party ads they air.
But making the case that an ad is deceptive or misleading is far from clear cut, said Mark Braden, a former chief counsel to the Republican National Committee. As a result, he said, calls for an ad to be removed generally go unheeded.
“Nine times out of 10, that doesn’t happen,” said Braden, who has no affiliation with the National Republican Senatorial Committee. “They only pull the ad if it’s a demonstratively false statement.”
What’s likely happening, he said, is a maneuver designed to create doubt in voters’ minds about an ad’s truthfulness.
“They’re really doing it because it gives them a way to make the argument that it’s not true,” Braden said. “It’s a clever political response to a charge.”
But, such a response from a campaign could also risk drawing too much attention to a negative ad attacking its candidate. “It’s a two-edged sword that could come back and cut you,” Braden said. “You have to be thoughtful as to which ones you would do this on.”
In its complaint, the King campaign tries to make the case that the Republican ads broadcast blatant falsehoods about the independent former governor’s wind business. The National Republican Senatorial Committee has so far spent $681,000 on two ads targeting King, according to expenditure reports on file with the Federal Election Commission.
One ad features five people portrayed to be residents who live near the 22-turbine Record Hill wind project in western Maine for which King handled state and local permitting and in which he and business partner Rob Gardiner held a 10 percent stake. A man in the 30-second spot says King “was making millions and millions of dollars,” a statement the King campaign disputed in its TV station complaints, citing news reports that King netted about $212,000 from his wind business and saying the ad creates the impression that the millions in earnings were from the wind installation.
But the National Republican Senatorial Committee shot back in an email to reporters Monday that King has indeed made millions of dollars, even if he didn’t make it all from the wind business. The committee pointed to King’s financial disclosure forms, which show the former governor’s net worth is between $5.3 million and $23.6 million and show he took in between $317,000 and $3 million in investment income between January 2011 and May 2012.
The ad’s quote that “Angus was making millions and millions of dollars” didn’t say explicitly that King was making the money from the Record Hill wind installation.
It’s an “uphill battle” for a candidate’s campaign to prove a political advertisement is blatantly false, said Chris Arterton, a professor of political management at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
“I think they can make that argument,” he said. “Whether it will be dispositive or not will be a matter ultimately for a federal judge to decide, and federal judges have been very loath to get into political rhetoric.”
It’s also a struggle to take on a third-party group’s advertising because well-funded outside groups have lawyers working for them who make sure ads are substantiated and not vulnerable to legal action, Braden said.
“The real concern here is the political hit of making a charge and then having to pull it back because it’s inaccurate,” he said. “Virtually no one that’s a professional in the business would want to say something they know is not true. It doesn’t make any sense politically.”
Most of Maine’s television stations haven’t yet publicly responded to the King campaign’s request, but they’re in an unenviable position, said Suzanne Goucher, president and CEO of the Maine Association of Broadcasters.
“Broadcasters are kind of damned if they do and damned if they don’t,” she said. “If you leave the ad on the air, you do leave yourself open to the libel suit. If you remove the ad, you run the risk of being accused of trampling on people’s First Amendment rights.”
Angus King is nothing more than a fraud.
Whats the Differance Between Angus King and Charlie Summers?
Answer; Charlie Summers hasn’t Made Millions from being in Public Office—–( YET ) !
What is a fact as you state is that Angus King DID make millions off of our backs, and got Caught!
In earlier times, snake-oil salesman, land robbers and scoundrels were hung by the nearest tree limb.
His only consequence is that he has finally been exposed for what he is.
Now let the first amendment and the people decide on Nov 6th who he is and what his political future will be.
We are all fortunate that our founding fathers knew the power of the First Amendment in a free society, and codified it in the Bill of Rights.
Only kings and scoundrels try to control it.
OK King Arthur123,
So whats the differance between the Angus King and The Romney King?
Please remember the many-haloed founding fathers put the Bill of Rights up for adoption because if they hadn’t done so there was little chance the Constitution itself would have been adopted by the states.
I would put my trust in Angus King any day before i would for Summers!
Thanks for admitting how naive your are in your assessments.
Who would trust man to run the Government who claims that Government is the problem and signs a pledge to a lobbyist to reduce his taxes contrary to a law in the Maine Constitution that states that the Legislature will never surrender the Power of Taxation in any manner?
Charlie Summers is running on a promise to Violate the Maine Constitution and his oath of office to support it!
Anyone that subscribes into that load of anarchy has surely been frontal labotomised.
So Angus is guilty…send him to Jail not D.C. where all the really big money is stored.
King is salivating to get at the big cookie jar on the hill. Our job is to keep his saliva off the cookies.
Did he commit a Crime?
So where is the Prosecution, Trial,Conviction and Sentenceing?
Some where lingering about as a fantacy in your mind?
*** How Angus King Ended Up In Maine ***
How about how he doesn’t tell us his arrival in Maine allowed him to beat the draft?
Both Angus King and Charlie Summers have stated they wish toget on the Armed Services Committee if elected.Summers served, King didn’t. Where is the part of King’s biography about how King took a legal aid job after law school in Virginia and with it got a near impossible occupational deferment so he wouldn’t be drafted like the less fortunate sons who were dying in Vietnam?
Where does he discuss that the members of his family were Democrats in elected office in Alexandria, Va., a suburb of Washington,D.C. Where does he state that his uncle Jack (Jack Ticer) of Alexandria went to work at the Armed Service Committee during the Vietnam war? Where does he therefore tell us his connections may have pulled strings forhim so he could avoid military service?
This is very important as Mr. King wants to get on ArmedServices, now that the coast is clear and he can go to war from his armchair.
King was born March 31, 1944 and graduated from law schoolin Virginia in 1969. This was the middle of the Vietnam War and there was a selective service lottery. The lottery drawing held December 1, 1969,determined the order in which men, born from 1944 through 1950, were called toreport for induction into the military. The highest lottery number called for this group was 195; all men assigned that lottery number or any lower number,and who were classified 1-A or 1-A-O (available for military service), were called to report for possible induction.
Angus King’s birthday drew a lowlottery number of 30.The lottery numbers pulled for each birthday on December 1,1969 can be seen by googling:
RESULTS FROM LOTTERY DRAWING – Vietnam Era 1970
Occupational deferments were NEXT TO IMPOSSIBLE TO GET. But voila, Angus King got one by taking a job at Pinetree Legal Assistance in Maine where he primarily worked on divorce cases. After his commitment there ran out,he was over 26 and no longer eligible for the draft. He also never did that kind of work again!!!
FACT: That’s how he beat the draft and that’s how he ended up in Maine. With his uncle so close to the powers that be in Washington,D.C. and then his uncle working on the Armed Services Committee, it is basic common sense that this be pursued by the Maine media. How did Angus King get a next to impossible to get deferment from military service?
Again, he wants to play general from the safety of an armchair. So this is most relevant.
tl;dr
Thank you for your research of this candidate. Did you do it for all three ?
Hey, how about running the same search on Lepage? Very curious he ended up in Canada during the war.
Thanks for the info. The weasel.
Charlie Summers claim to fame in the Armed Services was that he was a Public Relations Officer!
The Best Place to hide from War is in Plain Sight as a Public Relations Officer!
Talk about an Armchair Warrior!
We had enough of him.
Angus King…Snake Oil salesman.
Charlie Summers, ……Snake!
LOL
The King of Lies is imploding, all because his corrupt wind scam practices have been revealed to the Maine voter before the election. What’s the matter Mr. King, does the truth HURT?
You guys amaze me!
When shoes on the other foot you blame people for being jealous of success !
Which is it?
The Great Free Market Capitialism Success Story?
Or Corruption!
Can’t be both!
Mitt Romney hides his Proceeds from the slaughtering of American jobs with his vulture capitalist adventure and the offshoring of them to communist countries and all you hear from the right is —
well it’s legal!
And owh!! By the way!
{ Obama is the Communist!}
Jealous of success? Not at all.
Disgusted by shifty and disingenuous politicians? You bet.
You mean like the “Worst” Governor ever elected in Maine history named Paul LePage.
No, I’m not disgusted by Governor LePage. Considering the monumental task he’s taken on, I think he’s doing an admirable job. Thanks for asking, though!
It’s not Obama, Dilbert, it’s Obummer……. get with the program.
It’s not Dilbert, Clamcakes it’s Dlbrt!
Anything with DILL in it is disgusting. take the whole pickle and….
Who said that there was an I in Dlbrt!
We’ve got to be on at least Version 22 of a Wind farm that Yale Endowment owns, built and operates as Record Hill Wind LLC. Yale’s president help put it through DOE loan process, and allowed the subsequent filing for the 1603 in order to receive the 30% cash kickback.
Recovery Act:
1603 Program: Payments for Specified Energy Property in Lieu of Tax Credits
http://www.treasury.gov/initiatives/recovery/Pages/1603.aspx
As a Republican the central issue is the use of DOE loan and the 1603 cash grant for 30% of the total projects costs. King says it is good policy. Yale Endowment exercised every right granted to them and as such they now believe they have reduced their own carbon footprints at a cost basis they could otherwise not afford… Yale reduced their carbon footprint, and built an alternative energy system. Few others will be able to make that claim.
Instead, The National Republican Senatorial Committee takes charge that the entire Record Hill Wind LLC (owned by Yale) is ‘crony capitalism, a sweetheart deal, without ever stating who owns the wind farm. They pander and lied in their own manner that King made more than the record indicates. A record on file at the Committee of Oversight! Where the Committee of Oversight, that made review of the wind farm concluded that Yale Endowment, over reached in the committee’s view the intent of the program to utilize private capital where and when available.
This much is true:
One ad features five people portrayed to be residents who live near the 22-turbine Record Hill wind project in western Maine for which King handled state and local permitting and in which he and business partner Rob Gardiner held a 10 percent stake. (At one point in time up until, Jan. 2011) Repeat: King handled state and local permitting and in which he and business partner Rob Gardiner held a 10 percent stake.
Yale under the shell company name “Bayroot” has done some of the worst liquidation harvesting in the state. Stay tuned.
King is no King of mine. I will take Summers!!!!
King has my support and my vote.
Summers is to Dumb to Steal!
He is just there as a front for the real theives!
And you are too dumb to spell “too” correctly.
Go Summers Go!
Go, Summers, Go. Out the door …
I believe he was indeed in the process of making millions in wind before he got wind of the open seat of Olympia Snowe’s.
The real million that needs to be focused on are the $102 million that this charlatan got the U.S. taxpayer to guarantee when the wind operation goes belly up, as it will, due to the declines in natural gas prices.
Nobody with a brain would have risked their own money. So King did what he does best – spend the little man’s money.
So what drove the price of natural gas down?
You don’t suppose wind ?
Whats the going rate for a gust of wind?
Are they buying that on Margin , hedging their bets on the next gust to corner the market , drive the price up and make a killing ?
LOL
” AncientLegacy ” answered that in the post below. The going price of a gust of wind is indeed government grants, shady EPA deals, upset residents and millions from taxpayers. Funny you asked that question 8 hours after that was posted. It appears you can’t see the forest for the trees or in this case , windmills !
I just hope everyone who has a complaint about a candidate is a registered voter. Don’t just sit home and cast aspersions at candidates. Cast your votes.
You may want to point out to the King voters they can only do that once each.
Point it out to all voters.
Thats right !! If you dont vote DONT complain !!
I thing the only thing here to debate is millions or hundreds of thousands. I guess he’s only above the fray when he has a big lead. I’m glad to see he’s back from raising all that nasty out of state money in Washington. Anyone seeing the REAL KING here. LOL.
I wonder how his stock shares in apple are doing since he got maine schools into the apple laptops and apple tablets for the kindergarteners in auburn.
and the whole first wind fiasco,
government Grants, shady epa deals, and a lot of upset residents,
all while making millions of dollars from the backs of the taxpayers.
Probably Quixotic but might at least present his side of the story.
If the ad really is false, he’d file a civil suit.
Angus King has my vote. He is the best option for Maine as you saw what Collins and Snowe did for U.
These guys are making $100k per windmill they set up, just to get it up and running. This is an incredible amount of profit. We are suckers for allowing it. If King had not disputed the info here it would not have been evident to me. Wow! This is unconscionable.
Sounds like the negative ads are working given the comments. I don’t know enough about this to comment but will be doing some research before I head to the polls. Too bad we can’t just focus on the positive but that’s not how the game is played. Nasty, petty stuff from all sides. Not attractive!
Thought for the day.
WIND sells to mandated renewable buyers in another area, miles away..
9.92 cents per kilowatt hour. WIND signs an agreement stating to produce/sell an “X” amount of energy. If WINDs turbines cannot produce (and they work at about 8% efficiency in Western Maine), they make up the difference by purchasing strips from ISO-NE at around 4.5 cents per KwH. That’s where the true scam comes in. Reselling non-green energy under the guise of wind produced.
king Angus cracked mother earth’s life force and then pours poisons in her wounds all the while killing her winged ones. King Angus will not protect Maine.
Go ahead, King, complain some more. All you’re doing is ensuring that 250,000 more people will see the ad than if you hadn’t complained.
Thanks, Angus!
Economic evaluation of onshore wind power should account for the loss of land, a non-renewable and scarce resource, and the cost of damage to the fabric of society due to the imposition of wind turbines on rural communities again…st their wishes and interests.
·Subsidies for small scale generation cannot be justified as they represent a cost per tonne of carbon amelioration more than 100 times the current EU carbon price.
We welcome – as a result of the campaign – the growing public awareness about wind power’s boondoggle characteristics. We don’t really like the TV ad now being protested by King because it only focuses on the environmental damage caused by the Record Hill Wind (RHW) turbines. And it depicts a handful of neighbors as NIMBY when the broader and real impact is to statewide concerns like Quality of Place, taxes, and electricity rates.
We should all be willing to tolerate some environmental impact from a development project when there is an equal or greater benefit. Bridges, highways. cell towers, transmission lines, airports…these all scar the earth but they are worth it because they are all both useful and necessary. Wind turbines are neither. So we should only protest the scenic and environmental impact after we have debunked the perception that the turbines are useful, sustainable, and necessary.
The ad in question makes the people in it look like simple NIMBYs, and it makes the wind power craze look like it only matters to people who hear/see the turbines.That said, the ad is not egregiously inaccurate.
This sentence is from the BDN: “King’s campaign said it was challenging the ad on two points, saying King did not make millions of dollars from the wind company and that he didn’t get a “sweetheart deal.” ”
Let’s assume that Angus & Rob really only had a 10% stake in the project, and that he and Rob were really just on the payroll to do the gritty work of getting the permit for the eventual project owners. That sort of mercenary work is not uncommon or illegal. But during the arduous permitting process and afterward Angus never portrayed himself in such a role, rather he led us to believe it was his (and Rob’s) baby.
The project got its DEP permit pretty easily, given the 2008 changes to Maine law, and “Concerned Citizens to Save Roxbury” appealed that permit to the BEP. They lost at BEP so they then appealed to the Supreme Court. They lost again and the project was finally built in 2011. Through all that, Angus was the apparent developer/entrepreneur. His divestiture came less than a week after Congressman Darrell Issa announced the investigation. Rob claims he never told Angus in that week that Issa had made their business the subject of a congressional investigation. Minor news…we’re being investigated by congress…did I mention that to you Angus? So what’s new with you?
What if you’re in the financial services industry or a plumber? Would you have to divest from your business because you want to run for US Senate? Weird, but the apparent reason Angus washed his hands is because all the federal money that the project got puts him in an awkward (not necessarily conflicted) position.
The $102m Solyndra loan (Sec. 1705) was lawful unless the project, as Issa is questioning, did not properly meet the Sec. 1705 innovation criteria. If the project goes belly up, then it certainly is a story, even a scandal. But with the Yale endowment – one of the world’s richest money pots – as the financial backer, and with Angus’s DEP application stating under its financial capacity disclosure that he and Rob had $125m in cash, one has to question why taxpayers should guarantee a loan for such a weak performing asset as a wind “farm.” Sweet is not an unfair depiction.
“Millions and Millions” The Thompson’s Point development in Portland just landed a $1.5m award from the Fed. They rushed out the press releases. The $33m cash grant (Sec. 1603) that RHW quietly recieved three months ago certainly qualifies as “millions and millions” as the ad says. Did Angus “make” that much? Doubtful. Good for him if he did. It appears that the money went to paying the loan(s). But the point is that RHW, which everybody thought was Angus’ venture, has received more money through the loan and the grant than the project actually cost. We can argue whether that is relevant to a campaign for US Senate, but Angus himself implied -by his very public divestiture – that it IS relevant to the campaign.
“Sweetheart Deal” Getting 110% public financing in grants and loans when you don’t even need the money sure sounds sweet to most folks. There have been complaints that Chellie P wrote a nice commendation to the DOE to help RHW qualify for the loan. Of course she did. That’s what congresspeople do. Under ARRA, the Sec. 1603 cash grants were created for wind projects. The developer who got his wind project operating by December 31, 2011 had the option of taking the grant (worth 30% of project cost) OR of taking the production tax credit (PTC) over 10 years (after tax value of about 3.5 cents per kwh). Every wind project that was built for those 2+ ARRA years took the cash. Why wouldn’t they, not knowing if their generators would be economically viable either short term or long term? If RHW only took $33m under Sec. 1603, why did they apparently leave several million on the table? Interesting question. Based on the project cost, RHW should have gotten about $38m.
It could be that Angus decided RHW would take the PTC because although PTC is very sweet itself, it looks less scandalous during a campaign than a $33m handout. It could be that DOE and RHW cut a deal to avoid a political black eye in the wake of Solyndra. Regardless, RHW indisputably got some pretty sweet money for a useless project. Our money.
Based on FERC reporting for 2012 Q1 and Q2, RHW was only generating enough revenue to pay about half of its debt service, and not enough to pay even the interest (see below). It could be that RHW decided to take the cash grant instead of PTC because its first payment of $23m this year was not going to be possible. How do you spell Solyndra? The DOE was probably quite happy to expedite the cash grant application (which normally takes several months) because it would have been embarassed — and perhaps even scandalized — if RHW had gone into default in an election year. If that did happen, once again, “sweetheart” is not an inaccurate term.
Bottom line is these machines on Maine mountains simply do not work in grid scale applications. They are unnecessary, unsustainable, and essentially useless for the grid. They need about 10 cents per kWh to break even and RHW can only get about 3 cents out of the ISO-NE bid stack (see data below). Even with the grants, credits and loans, it is doubtful that this project will ever make a penny as long as natural gas continues to be plentiful and inexpensive, setting the market clearing price…and that should continue for several decades at least!
If anything dishonest, untoward, or illegal happened with RHW, it is fair game for public discourse and for campaign ads. The fact is, there is lots of smoke here, so looking for fire is appropriate. Don’t be surprised if Issa drops a bomb on RHW before November. We do not care whether it hurts or helps Angus King’s candidacy. Our interest is in exposing the utter folly of grid scale wind power in Maine, and this Angus flap is helping to do that.
Would we have done that ad differently? Probably. One of the talking heads in the ad is a Vermont resident who owns a camp in Roxbury. Another person is from Belgrade. As long as the ad does not state that these folks are Roxbury citizens, then it is no less straightforward than an ad for hemorrhoids with an actor saying that he has hemorrhoids.
King’s handlers were smart to quickly produce a counter ad with Roxbury residents who are pleased that their taxes have been (temporarily) reduced. But given all of the above info Angus has no justification in asking TV stations to pull the ad.
“It could be that Angus decided RHW would take the PTC because although PTC is very sweet itself, it looks less scandalous during a campaign than a $33m handout.”
That is a jaded comment and just as scurrilous. Because, it should be considered that in order to receive the 1603 Grant it was best that the 10% stake Independence Wind held in RHW, should be dissolved. Otherwise, 1603 money could not be fully captured. Why? Because, they agreed in terms and were paid in kind for the aggregated $212k reported as income for the work one partner of Independence Wind provided through the ultimate completion of the RHW project.
That is an additional factor that needs to be fully realized. That a Maine company successfully bid and accomplished a green energy project within the guise of the American Recovery Act. For that reason alone is likely the reason they entered a minority position of 10% to uphold our interest in the development of Record Hill.
Application:
FEDERAL LOAN GUARANTEES FOR PROJECTS THAT
EMPLOY INNOVATIVE ENERGY EFFICIENCY, RENEWABLE
ENERGY, AND ADVANCED TRANSMISSION AND
DISTRIBUTION TECHNOLOGIES
https://lpo.energy.gov/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/RenSol10-29-08Amend2.pdf
The residents had their property taxes reduced seems like a misstatement, I would have worded it ” divided up among the American taxpayer” . Great article by the way , thanks for your efforts.
MPBN Reported In March 2012 That Independence Wind Still Operated Record Hill.
“Gov. Angus King took pre-emptive action against a potential distraction in his independent bid for the U.S. Senate today by resigning from the wind energy development company he helped found . . . Founded by King and former MPBN President Robert Gardiner, Independence Wind combines environmental and political skills to support wind project development in Maine. The company operates a 22-turbine, 50-megawatt utility-scale wind power project in Roxbury.
(A.J. Higgins, “King Resigning from Wind Company he Founded,” MPBN, 3/16/12) In Celebrating Receiving The Loan For The Record Hill Project In August 2011, King Said “It Means We Can Move Forward And Complete Construction.” “The Record Hill Wind LLC project on Roxbury hills took a giant step forward on Monday when the U.S. Department of Energy finalized its $102 million loan guarantee to the Maine company. The $120 million Record Hill wind project consists of 22 turbines and a transmission line upgrade to interconnect with Central Maine Power Co. ‘It means we can move forward and complete construction,’ Angus King, Independence Wind LLC co-principal and former Maine governor, said Tuesday morning in Brunswick. The other principal is Robert Gardiner, the former president of Maine Public Broadcasting. ‘It’s been a long time coming,’ King said.”
(Terry Karkos, “Roxbury wind project gets loan guarantee,” Sun Journal, 8/17/11) In August 2011, The U.S. Energy Secretary Said Record Hill Was Developed And Managed By Wagner Wind Energy And Independence Wind. “Developed and managed by Wagner Wind Energy I LLC of New Hampshire and Independence Wind, Record Hill ‘will provide sustainable power to the state while funding 200 construction jobs,’ Chu said.”
(Terry Karkos, “Roxbury wind project gets loan guarantee,” Sun Journal, 8/17/11) On March 3, 2011, Record Hill Put Out A Press Release Listing Independence Wind As A Partner In The Project. “As part of the financing commitment, it was announced that the Yale University Endowment would be a major sponsor of the project, working with the Maine-based Independence Wind, LLC and Wagner Wind Energy I, LLC of Lyme, New Hampshire to bring the project to completion.” (Record Hill, Press Release, 3/3/11) And . . . Record Hill’s Website Still Lists Independence Wind In Its “About Us” Section. (Record Hill Website, http://recordhillwind.com/about-us, Accessed 9/14/12)The Record Hill project has been the subject of much controversy surrounding the questionable circumstances by which it obtained permitting and financing. The Citizens’ Task Force on Wind Power investigated and revealed many of the details. And so does the documentation!
King’s partner, Robert Gardiner, signed documents as president of Record Hill Wind, LLC months after King says they both sold their interest in the mysterious, government-backed wind farm!
RHW went into service in November of 2011. From August 17, 2011 thru January 30, 2011 the DOE guaranteed multiple loan takedowns for RHW in a total amount of $101.5 million. Of the total, $23 million matured on April 27, 2012 with the balance maturing on December 26, 2029 (per the Federal Financing Bank website). The August 17th, 2011 takedown was $69.055 million at a quarterly interest rate of 2.776% or an annualized rate of 11.1%. A level quarterly debt service payment would equate to $2.32 million per quarter and the interest cost alone on the first payment would be equal to approximately $1.9 million.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) website reports that RHW had revenues from the sale of energy and capacity payments for the first quarter 2012 period of $1.272 million and for the second quarter 2012 period of $815K. Therefore, the cash shortfall between the FERC revenues and debt service would have been $1 million and $1.5 million for the respective periods on just 68% of the total guaranteed debt.
In the absence of any other significant revenue and before taking into account any operating expenses, RHW was deeply in the red.
On June 18, 2012, the DOE provided RHW $33.7 million under the 1603 Grant Program per the latest DOE report (July 19, 2012).
From July FERC filings. Less than 3 cents per kwh. Record Hill For the first two calendar quarters of 2012 the data is as follows:
First Quarter
Mw/Hrs 37,907
Energy Revenue $1,115,823
Capacity Payments $156,265
Total Energy & CP $1,272,088
$$$/Energy Mw/Hr $29.44
Capacity Factor 34.37%
Second Quarter
Mw/Hrs 24,896
Energy Revenue $658,956
Capacity Payments $156,265
Total Energy & CP $815,221
$$$/Energy Mw/Hr $26.47
Capacity Factor 22.57%
According to the Federal Financing Bank which provided the actual $102 million loan to RHW, the August 2011 funding consisted of a single takedown for $69,054,958.83 at a quarterly interest rate/repayment period of 2.776% which matures on 12/29/2029 (16 years). A level debt service amortization would require quarterly payments of $2,318,964.26 and interest only payments on the full amount would be $1,916,956.
In effect, on just the above debt, the project had a cash shortfall/loss on the debt service of $1.5 million and on just the interest cost of $1.1 million. Add in the operating cost, the debt service on the balance of $23 million in loans less any revenue from nearly worthless RECs and/or swaps and this project is bleeding to death.
The critical point is that the entire Renewable Energy industry is effectively being brought down by the false advertising being shunned down upon Maine. Solar, Geo-thermal, hydro, every corner of the green energy parameter has a critical interest in the success of their competitor’s, and or other renewable energy venture. It all works together.
The Section 1603 online system, https://treas1603.nrel.gov closes for new applications at midnight (HT) on September 30, 2012.
@ Beangood: Good point, but we disagree a bit. Critical thinkers should pursue an “all of the sensible” energy strategy — not an “all of the above” energy strategy, which is the cause celebre in Washington. And who has proven false advertising? See our post below.
Whomever, can look GE or Siemens straight in the face and tell them they don’t know what they’re doing…
The above fails to mention that the 1603 entitlement/grant of
$33.7 million is never paid back. RHW simply pockets the cash tax free. To date, approximately $18B in 1603 money has been granted.
Only that, the present value of the 1603 money of $33.7m is a factor. A ready asset that offsets cost that the fixed rate return equation above fails to consider.
1603 is central and critical for “green energy” policy corroboration, that has provided a basis for working capital. Yet is slow to provide a mature rate of return on investment.
U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/09/no-more-solyndras-act-passes-the-house
RHW is an exception clearly because of the interest Yale Endowment holds to this project. The University’s worthiness will ultimately help resolve the matter as is, outlined above.
It was a good decision on their part and the right thing to do. Furthermore, their own board of directors will hold those responsible, responsible. They claim already to have reduced their carbon footprint while using means available to demonstrate a green energy project.
Yale University Endowment is investing funds in the Record Hill wind power project in Maine, which has been offered a conditional commitment from the U.S. Department of Energy for a $102 million loan guarantee.
http://news.yale.edu/2011/03/03/endowment-invests-maine-wind-power-project
Section G: Progress Reports
1. Progress Reports: The applicant shall provide project progress reports to DOE
or its agent(s) during the construction and start-up phases on a monthly basis
(the first such report to be submitted within 30 calendar days of notification of
CRB approval of the Term Sheet), comparing actual timing, cost and financing
against the original budget and previous month. Each report shall explain the
reason(s) for any significant variance(s) during the month and likely impact on
the project going forward. During the operational phase of the project, the
applicant shall provide financial statements, prepared in accordance with US
GAAP, to DOE on a quarterly basis (consisting of an income statement, balance
sheet and cash flow statement), with certification by the applicant that the
statements are true and correct. At all times, from receipt by DOE of an
application, until the guaranteed portion of the Guaranteed Obligation is fully
re-paid, the applicant shall be obligated to inform DOE expeditiously (but in no
event later than three (3) business days after discovery) of any condition having,
or potentially having, a material adverse effect on either the project or the
ability of the parties to carry out their obligations. DOE reserves the right to
require submission of additional information as it deems necessary. Details on
submission procedures, URLs, and passwords will be provided to successful
applicants later in the process under separate cover.
https://lpo.energy.gov/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/RenSol10-29-08Amend2.pdf
Anyone think that one morning Angus woke up and said Hey honey I think I’ll run in the senators race to help the people of Maine. Cutler pushed him into it. Why???? Corporate welfare I presume.
Hey all you wind power lovers, how many of you signed up to use wind power as your power supply.
@ pusheredbutton, that is a marketing mirage. People who think they are buying wind power sign up to support the carbon trading scheme that subsidizes wind generators. They cannot simply buy wind power as opposed to geothermal or nuke…like they can pluck apples off a shelf instead of oranges. ENRON lives.
That’s right.
Gotta love it!
The “King of Lies” is imploding, all because his corrupt
wind scam practices have been have
revealed to the Maine public before the election. What’s the matter Mr. King,
does truth hurt?
Where are all the comments that were posted. I heard from six folks who posted and whose comments werre not listed.
“Am I at the buffet? It’s 3:30 p.m., where’s the food?”
Didnt king Angus make a boat load of money off the taxpayer earlier in his career? I think it had to do with Water heater wrappers CMP and you and me!
What is a fact as you state is that Angus King DID make millions off of our backs, and got Caught!
In earlier times, snake-oil salesman, land robbers and scoundrels were hung by the nearest tree limb.
His only consequence is that he has finally been exposed for what he is.
Now let the first amendment and the people decide on Nov 6th who he is and what his political future will be.
We are all fortunate that our founding fathers knew the power of the First Amendment in a free society, and codified it in the Bill of Rights.
Only kings and scoundrels try to control it.
So Angus wants the TV stations to cut off their most profitable revenue stream in and election year.. Thats a good one ther Angus! LOL!
Fed Loan Guarantees for ancient windmill technology with Programmable Logic Controls hooked up? Nothing innovative there. The bucks should have been denied.