Fergus Cullen for the Union Leader
New Hampshire conservationists had high hopes for how $18 million in funding generated by the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) might advance energy efficiency projects. Unfortunately, cronyism and corporate welfare hallmark too many grants awarded by the Public Utilities Commission so far.
An environmental advocacy group called Clean Air Cool Planet is receiving $400,000. CACP set up shop in Portsmouth a few years ago even though not one of the group’s 15 officers and directors lived in New Hampshire. The special interest group came to exploit the first-in-the nation presidential primary to promote its pet issue, global warming.