Higher bills, stalled projects, and lost jobs. That’s what Windham faces under H.R. 1, the federal budget bill passed by the GOP earlier this summer.
On August 19th, the Windham Local Energy Committee (LEC) met with Representative Maggie Goodlander and ReVision Energy to talk about local solar projects. Goodlander came to hear directly how the bill would hit our town and to make clear her commitment to fighting against its harms.
H.R. 1, what she calls The Big Brutal Bill, halts local energy projects that could cut costs, create jobs, and keep power reliable.
Without the credits, the payback for police and fire solar projects doubles from about 12 years to more than 22. The LEC had a strong plan to build on the savings we’ve already seen at Nesmith Library, where the array is lowering costs and offsetting hundreds of thousands of pounds of CO2. The police and fire projects could have paid for themselves in just over a decade and then generated about $40,000 a year in savings for Windham taxpayers, With H.R. 1, that future disappears.
In its place, New Hampshire is set to see energy prices climb 74 percent in the next decade, while thousands of jobs and billions of investment in green energy disappear.
The Bill also props up a broken system. Billions of taxpayer dollars are spent every year to keep oil and gas cheap, while towns like ours are blocked from using solar to lower bills because H.R. 1 removes the modest credits that make clean energy competitive. Other countries are moving in the opposite direction, putting a price on carbon to guide markets. We’re left paying more for less.
Goodlander made clear she will keep fighting this bill and work to undo the damage it has caused, especially to local energy projects. This isn’t about political labels. It’s about higher utility bills for families, steeper costs for local businesses, and fewer jobs for our neighbors.
With H.R. 1, Washington politicians chose corporate wallets over towns like ours. Windham deserves better.
Respectfully submitted,
– Windham Democratic Town Committee
