We all know what happened on Nov. 6th, 2024. The country woke up to the horror of a second Trump regime, four years being thrust back into the Twilight Zone.
So this is a follow-up to previous articles pertaining to the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and the Solar for All program that was bringing millions of federal dollars into the state by way of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, brought to us by the Biden Administration.
In late 2023, New Hampshire’s Dept. of Energy had put in a request for a $70 million federal grant to widen these community solar programs for low and moderate income households. The funding was to help lower utility bills, speed up decarbonization (reducing carbon dioxide emissions), and possibly bring about more desperately needed, affordable housing. In the end, NH was set to receive $43 million through that program to help build solar arrays in low-income communities. Federal records report that out of $43.5 million pledged to NH through Solar for All, a little over $103,000 had already been handed out.
Now NH’s Dept. of Energy has been notified by the federal government they are ending grant awards from the nationwide Solar for All program. One of the long-term plans for the grant money was to build large-scale community solar farms meant to benefit low-income households. Collaborating with NH Community Loan Fund (Neighbors Investing in Neighbors) and NH Housing Finance Authority, the state’s energy department was looking to bring about solar projects in low-income multifamily homes, manufactured housing parks, and on established public housing properties.
According to Environmental Protection Agency “administrator” Lee Zeldin, the entire nationwide Solar for All program has been eliminated as part of the federal “Big, Ugly, Brutal” bill passed last month. There will be a fight for the promised funding because the “Big, Ugly, Brutal” new law only canceled funding that had not been previously pledged.
Let’s see how the party of “let them eat lead” felt about addressing extreme weather and/or climate change here in the NH legislature:
HB 106 was to establish a commission to determine the monetary costs of climate damage to NH and the best means of recouping such costs. Voted down, 207-149
HB 526 was to establish a climate change and damage division in the dept. of environmental services. Rep. Jason Osborne, Free Stater from Auburn, made the motion to “table” the bill, which passed by voice vote.
HB 537 was for electric rates to be approved by the public utilities commission for residential condominium property. Rep. Joe Sweeney made the motion to “table” the bill, which passed, 212-140.
HB 599 was to establish a committee to examine weatherization initiatives for homes in NH. Rep. Michael Vose made the motion to “table” the bill, which passed, 198-148.
HB 654 was meant to allow small customer-generators the ability to participate in group-net metering. Osborne made the motion to “table” the bill, which passed by voice vote.
HB 692 was for utility companies to adopt advanced meters. Vose
made the motion to “table” the bill, which passed by voice vote.
HB 761 provides that the dept. of energy shall adopt rules relative to installation and use of energy storage systems. Vose
made the motion to “table” the bill, which passed by voice vote.
This is just several examples of Democrat sponsored bills that were meant to either help NH residents, home owners, business owners or to study ways in which to improve energy efficiency. Notice the pattern? The Republican majority in NH will do as much as the federal government to address the very real issue of extreme weather/climate change.
Which is nothing . . .