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Log inLincoln mill boss calls for energy plan
Lincoln mill boss calls for energy plan
by Outspoken on Tue Jul 08, 2008 8:21 am
Lincoln mill boss calls for energy plan
By Nick Sambides Jr.
Staff Writer Bangor Daily News
LINCOLN, Maine - Forty million dollars for Fraser Papers Inc. of Edmundston, New Brunswick. Nine million for Irving Paper Ltd. of St. John. Ten million to a mill in Nackawic.
Provided by the government of New Brunswick, the nearly $60 million in low-interest, long-term loans issued this spring will help the Canadian province’s largest employers upgrade technology, dump traditional energy sources and eventually crush their American forest products industry competitors, Keith Van Scotter said Monday.
That’s why the Lincoln Paper and Tissue LLC president sent a letter to U.S. Rep. Michael Michaud, Gov. John Baldacci and the state’s two Republican senators pressing them to create a comprehensive federal and state energy policy.
Maine manufacturers are struggling to find private-sector funds with which to upgrade their operations, and among federal and state policymakers, Van Scotter sees more confusion than coherence, he said.
"We have utilized [Maine’s] typical economic development tools, but the amount of money New Brunswick is loaning is 20 or 30 times more than anything we might get," Van Scotter said Monday. "The real issue is their loaning money to those companies to focus on making themselves more competitive.
"They get an advantage, and it’s a sustained advantage," he added.
In his letter to Michaud he noted that while Canadian manufacturers are investing in themselves through government loan programs, "U.S. manufacturers are being devastated by energy and material costs that are escalating so quickly that profit margins have been destroyed."
Michaud agreed with Van Scotter, but blamed President Bush, not Congress, for failing to create a coherent energy policy.
In a sprawling statement, Michaud outlined his support of: suspending shipments to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, to increase oil supply; closing the "Enron loophole," which allows speculators to avoid regulation by trading outside conventional oil markets; new energy efficiency standards for autos, buildings and household appliances; and legislation supporting investment in alternative energies.
"I couldn't agree more with those who have called for a coherent and effective national energy policy, and are disappointed in this administration for failing to deliver forward-thinking energy policy," Michaud said.
David Farmer, Baldacci’s spokesman, disagreed with Van Scotter.
http://bangornews.com/news/t/news.aspx?articleid=166813&zoneid=500
(Bangor Daily News/Kevin Bennett)
By Nick Sambides Jr.
Staff Writer Bangor Daily News
LINCOLN, Maine - Forty million dollars for Fraser Papers Inc. of Edmundston, New Brunswick. Nine million for Irving Paper Ltd. of St. John. Ten million to a mill in Nackawic.
Provided by the government of New Brunswick, the nearly $60 million in low-interest, long-term loans issued this spring will help the Canadian province’s largest employers upgrade technology, dump traditional energy sources and eventually crush their American forest products industry competitors, Keith Van Scotter said Monday.
That’s why the Lincoln Paper and Tissue LLC president sent a letter to U.S. Rep. Michael Michaud, Gov. John Baldacci and the state’s two Republican senators pressing them to create a comprehensive federal and state energy policy.
Maine manufacturers are struggling to find private-sector funds with which to upgrade their operations, and among federal and state policymakers, Van Scotter sees more confusion than coherence, he said.
"We have utilized [Maine’s] typical economic development tools, but the amount of money New Brunswick is loaning is 20 or 30 times more than anything we might get," Van Scotter said Monday. "The real issue is their loaning money to those companies to focus on making themselves more competitive.
"They get an advantage, and it’s a sustained advantage," he added.
In his letter to Michaud he noted that while Canadian manufacturers are investing in themselves through government loan programs, "U.S. manufacturers are being devastated by energy and material costs that are escalating so quickly that profit margins have been destroyed."
Michaud agreed with Van Scotter, but blamed President Bush, not Congress, for failing to create a coherent energy policy.
In a sprawling statement, Michaud outlined his support of: suspending shipments to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, to increase oil supply; closing the "Enron loophole," which allows speculators to avoid regulation by trading outside conventional oil markets; new energy efficiency standards for autos, buildings and household appliances; and legislation supporting investment in alternative energies.
"I couldn't agree more with those who have called for a coherent and effective national energy policy, and are disappointed in this administration for failing to deliver forward-thinking energy policy," Michaud said.
David Farmer, Baldacci’s spokesman, disagreed with Van Scotter.
http://bangornews.com/news/t/news.aspx?articleid=166813&zoneid=500
(Bangor Daily News/Kevin Bennett)
"When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, 'I used everything you gave me'."
Erma Bombeck (1927-1996)
Erma Bombeck (1927-1996)
