To capture the many benefits of clean energy and forestall climate costs, Maine legislators should take rapid and bold action.

To capture the many benefits of clean energy and forestall climate costs, Maine legislators should take rapid and bold action.
With the gasoline era coming to a close, how can a rural, aging and economically challenged state navigate a path to electrified transportation?
To achieve the legislated goal of decarbonizing Maine by 2050, the state must dramatically expand renewable power generation and transmission. Overcoming negative public opinion in the wake of the Hydro-Quebec corridor debate is just one obstacle in the way.
A lawyer for the dark money conduit, Mainers for Clean Energy Jobs, said the financial ties between it and the utility would have been disclosed by Sept. 7 under new ethics guidelines. But now that the referendum is off the ballot, the extent of those connections will go unreported.
Maine is looking to successful financing models in other states as it seeks ways to fund a statewide energy overhaul and climate adaptation measures.
More than 57,000 organizations and individuals formally opposed a recently filed petition that would remove Maine’s ability to set solar credit standards and shift control to the federal government. The change would impact thousands of Mainers who have already committed to solar projects.
Filed while the solar industry is reeling from the economic impacts of the coronavirus and state governments are focused on the pandemic, the petition could roll back net metering and unravel one of Gov. Mills’ key efforts to boost clean energy in Maine.
Private electricity suppliers, which promised rates lower than the government-set default, instead cost Mainers an extra $132 million over seven years.
Electric utilities everywhere are re-examining antiquated ways of operating as users demand cleaner, cheaper, more reliable energy sources – in Maine, that could mean creating a consumer-driven utility.
The Legislature’s investigative arm launched a preliminary inquiry of the state-sponsored Maine PowerOptions electricity program Feb. 17, a month after a story by the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting raised questions about the group’s transparency, oversight and benefits for its members.
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