BY KAT McGHEE
When it comes to government policies that affect the lives of our families, we should still care about the facts on the ground. As of the June solstice, New Hampshire temperatures are on track to log the warmest year since we’ve been keeping records. The United Nations announced that humanity is currently on “the road to climate hell.” A May 1st article in the Guardian reiterated the specifics of the fossil fuel industry’s decades-long disinformation campaign to deceive the American public on the science of global warming.
The outgoing Sununu administration spent eight years doing cartwheels to preserve the fossil fuel industry’s claims of “nothing to see here” with the enthusiastic backing of Koch-funded “Americans for (their own) Prosperity.”
The administration rebuffed state energy policy aimed at lowering harmful emissions with claims that “climate science is a hoax,” and ignored managing the state’s energy plan because “the government who governs least, governs best.” So, who’s looking out for the environment, public health and the costly economic risk of fossil fuel dependence, if not those we elect to act on our behalf?
It is against this backdrop of settled science, credible watchdog alarms and the reaffirmation of a well-funded public deception that I challenge Republicans’ claim:
“New Hampshire does energy policy right.”
Governor Sununu spearheaded the closing of seven local, sustainable biomass plants, sacrificing timber jobs and devaluing forest lands by eliminating the in-state market for low-grade timber. He suffered no consequence. He torpedoed legislation to allow net-metered projects to qualify for credit when sized in the “sweet spot” for return on investment (above 1 megawatt and below 5 megawatts). Sununu’s personal opposition to solar adoption continued even after the Value of Distributed Energy Report (VDER 2022) concluded that his veto message cautioning against cost-shifting to people who couldn’t afford solar was unfounded. These policies did not protect consumers as much as they limited options for local, sustainable energy, while increasing greater fossil fuel dependence.
Another questionable GOP policy has been to severely limit strategic investment of Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) auction proceeds to fund programs like NH Saves. Since its inception, Republicans have insisted, in statute, that over 90% of RGGI money received by the state must be rebated on electric bills at about 21 cents per customer, per month. No one feels this rebate; it certainly gave no comfort to electricity customers when gas prices went through the roof in 2022. But the loss of funding to state energy programs has been about $300 million since 2009. We are the only state of 11 RGGI states who opted to squander this investment advantage. Decisions like this have reversed smart steps taken by prior administrations to define energy strategy, undoing our competitive advantage in favor of inaction.
Yet those Granite Staters still working for good energy policy can easily name the critical elements to regain competitive advantage, spur economic growth and keep utility bills low: market competition, energy efficiency, supply choice and an embrace of technology and innovation toward greater energy independence. Today, thanks to a competent federal government that is partnering with states to help fund energy transition goals, there is incredible opportunity to realize ambitious emissions goals.
The NH Department of Environmental Services is in the process of applying for three federal grants under the Inflation Reduction Act that will provide money for New Hampshire to invest in cleaner buildings, grid modernization and strategic local energy projects. These grants are designed to lower emissions and costs for consumers and is explicitly stated in the funding mission. In order get back on track and make these programs work, we need to elect people who believe in progress and in the role of government. If we keep electing anti-government leaders, the solutions they yield will continue to be less than adequate to meet the moment. The facts on the ground are that the world is warming and our children are expecting the grown-ups to take reasonable steps to protect their future.
The facts on the ground for energy policy require that we return to what always works when New Hampshire confronts complex problems: trust experts over ideology, and trust science over spin.
Kat McGhee is a state representative for the Hillsborough District 35 from Hollis, and is a ranking member of the NH House Science, Technology & Energy Committee.
