Our Mission
We support access to broader vital services across the state through the promotion of innovative projects resulting in positive economic, environmental, and community impact.

Focus on What Matters, Inc. (the "Corporation") is a nonpartisan organization having as its primary purposes the following: (i) the education of our local communities on public policy, including economic policy, relating to local communities and governments; (ii) the education of the general public on economics and public policy; and (iii) generally advancing and preserving the rights and responsibilities of citizens to appreciate the benefits of and ensure the continued existence of competition, economic freedom, and free markets. Notwithstanding the foregoing, however, the corporation is organized exclusively for charitable, religious, educational, and scientific purposes, including, for such purposes, the making of distributions to organizations that qualify as exempt organizations under section 50l(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (or corresponding section of any future federal tax code).

Power from the Prairie (PftP)
It would consist of a nominal 4000 MW HVDC line starting from the wind energy fields of Southeastern Wyoming, crossing either South Dakota or Nebraska to the wind energy fields of Northwest Iowa When interconnected with other proposed high capacity HVDC lines from Wyoming to California (e.g., the Anschutz
“TransWest Express” or Duke-ATC “Zephyr” lines as well as an existing HVDC line currently associated with the coal-fired Intermountain Power Plant in Utah scheduled to be retired in 2025 and connected to the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (LADWP) and California Independent System Operator (CAISO) systems), and the proposed Soo Green HVDC line from Northwest Iowa to Chicago and the PJM Interconnection (“PJM”), it would enable a bi-directional renewable
energy superhighway connection between Southern California and Chicago/PJM.

1 They often have an excellent financial background.
2 They are good at promoting.
3 They are good at securing right-of-way.
4 However, they are as-yet generally unable to secure utility off-takers for their project. After all, they need the commitment of eventual customers to make their projects financeable.

Some form of non-utility entity that is not bound by individual utility service territories and purely state-based regulatory considerations, and has a global scope and vision, is necessary to provide leadership.

And who might such an entity be?

• The federal government would have the appropriate multi-region scope and hopefully broad national energy policy purview. However, as recent experience with DOE and the Seam Study would attest, this is not a likely outcome. In fact, the federal government has not led such development since the Colorado River Storage Project which began over 60 years ago.
• The federal government could encourage such development as part of a nationwide infrastructure program as an economic stimulus package. Not only would such projects support clean energy development
and lower consumer costs, they represent thousands of well-paid jobs.
• One or more states (several states in coordination would be best), acting in their own self-interest as coalitions in their efforts to achieve high levels of carbon-free energy. For example, we are already seeing such governor-led, multi-state coalitions forming to
plan processes for transitioning out of current coronavirus social distancing orders.
• An independent project developer with a profit motive. With IOUs apparently discouraged for prospects of state retail cost recovery for such interregional projects, and public power utilities without a profit motive, it is this group that may be productively encouraged by the FERC NOPR.

NERA includes 12 company members and received $245,000 in total revenue in 2018, Public Citizen pointed out in its testimony. Contributions make up the entirety of the group's revenue, according to its 990 tax forms, averaging approximately $20,000 per member. 

"A $20,000 financial contribution to become a 'member' of the New England Ratepayers Association orients its membership more in line [with] a corporate trade association," Public Citizen wrote in its comments.

NERA describes itself as "an independent non-profit" that was "established to give a larger voice for the families and businesses that are served by regulated utilities." NERA's Brown did not respond to multiple Utility Dive questions about its funding and membership.

"NERA isn't some rag tag bunch of dreamers. They are a well financed corporate front group pursuing a smart, aggressive playbook," said Slocum.

The decision to close the site wasn’t a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the company said. Rather, the industry is moving toward wind turbine blades larger than the 44- and 62-meter blades made at the Little Rock facility in order to bring down the cost of renewable energy, according to the spokesman.

In an interview Friday, Skelly said the wind farms would have required 3,500 to 4,000 blades. The Little Rock factory would have had plenty of business, he added.

Opposition from the state's two Republican U.S. senators, John Boozman of Rogers and Tom Cotton of Dardanelle, played a major part in derailing the effort, Skelly said.

"They tried to pass a law in the United States Senate that would kill the project," Skelly said. "That does have a chilling effect on a project and on customers for a project, more specifically."

Land agents were also deployed in Missouri to discuss survey access with landowners for certain parcels identified as priorities by Project environmental and engineering teams, with surveys expected to be conducted later in the year.

To demonstrate its commitment to invest in Grain Belt and in communities and landowners along the route, in Q3 2019 Invenergy made easement payments on all easement agreements that had been signed by the Project’s previous owner, Clean Line, and were still active when Invenergy signed the MIPA.

This astounding amount of political spending by Maine’s largest utility amounts to $55,448 per day from January through March, which compares to the average medium household income in Maine of $55,602.  The government-owned Canadian energy giant Hydro-Quebec has spent $2.047 million as part of its coordinated effort with CMP to defend the project against a citizen initiative successfully brought forward by more than 66,000 Maine voters to stop the project. Total daily spending by the two companies combined over the report period was nearly $77,000.

CMP’s political campaign includes a vast network of out-of-state political consultants; misleading and simplistic television, print, and online advertising; and mobilization of lawyers and lobbyists trying to stop Mainers from voting on the project. The company has spent lavishly on polling, private investigators to stalk petition gatherers, opposition research, consultants that specialize in blocking citizen-initiated referenda, helicopter services, and even fine dining. The company’s political spending reports show:

• $5.139 million on TV and cable ads and $70,138 on digital ads
  
• $870,623 on direct mail and print ads
• $505,495 on polling and survey research
• $99,021 on a private detective firm, Merrill’s Investigations, to stalk Maine citizens who were gathering signatures
• $91,520 on campaign manager Jonathan Breed since October, already significantly more in six months than the annual salary of $70,000 for Maine’s governor
• $94,392 on an Oakland, California-based opposition research firm, VR Research
• $75,000 on an Arizona-based political firm, Signafide, whose sole purpose is to discredit signatures for citizen’s referenda
• $2,500 on helicopter services
• $2,077 on fine dining, including at David’s, Flood’s, Union, and Katahdin restaurants

Huge profits are at stake for these corporations, and investors in CMP’s parent company, Avangrid, recently expressed significant concerns that Maine people might defeat this project. Hydro-Quebec stands to make $12.4 billion on this project and CMP and its parent companies would earn $2 billion.

“At this rate, CMP and Hydro-Quebec could spend more than $20 million by November in their effort to sell Mainers a project they don’t want,” said Natural Resources Council of Maine Advocacy Director Pete Didisheim. “This level of spending is unprecedented, deeply troubling during the current coronavirus pandemic, and, frankly, obscene. Mainers should be outraged that CMP would spend this much money when the company still struggles to restore power outages and deliver accurate bills.”

Yao says, “The ultimate goal is to make large-scale systems. For example, the technology might be incorporated into wall paint that could help power your home. Or, we may develop stand-alone air-powered generators that supply electricity off the grid. Once we get to an industrial scale for wire production, I fully expect that we can make large systems that will make a major contribution to sustainable energy production.”

The new technology developed in Yao’s lab is non-polluting, renewable and low-cost. It can generate power even in areas with extremely low humidity such as the Sahara Desert. It has significant advantages over other forms of renewable energy including solar and wind, Lovley says, because unlike these other renewable energy sources, the Air-gen does not require sunlight or wind, and “it even works indoors.”

This decision sends a strong signal to the state legislature that the project has the constitutional basis to proceed with a wind energy transmission line through Missouri,” according to Kincheloe.

“We would also hope that this helps convince legislators that we will prevail in the courts if they attempt to block the project. Clearly precedent is on our side on this one and this Supreme Court decision demonstrates it,” Petty said.

Separation of powers is a doctrine of constitutional law under which the three branches of government (executive, legislative, and judicial) are kept separate. This is also known as the system of checks and balances, because each branch is given certain powers so as to check and balance the other branches.

“Quite honestly, I’ve been focusing on keeping the power on in the wake of the coronavirus crisis,” said Petty. “I’m not sure where things are in the Senate. Hopefully, this Supreme Court ruling will be something they use as guidance.

Earlier this year, the Missouri House of Representatives passed by a 118-42 a bill sponsored by Rep. Jim Hansen, R-Frankfort. His bill will prohibit developers of the 4,000-megawatt high-level transmission project from forcing landowners to sell property.

“This bill protects the rights of landowners in Missouri,” Hansen has insisted in sponsoring the bill.

The Senate also is expected to support the bill along party lines. Petty has urged Kirkwood residents to contact legislators and express their concern over the statehouse blocking the new green energy source.