Opinion: Poliquin misses the point on Maine power consumption

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • December 12, 2021

A recent op-ed by Bruce Poliquin repeats an old falsehood: that Maine is a green energy state because its energy generation is 79 percent “green” – coming from renewable sources. Poliquin misses the point, that Maine consumes far more power (12 terawatts of electricity per annum) than we produce (4 terawatts). More concerning is the fact that roughly two-thirds of us power our homes with nonrenewable carbon: heating oil and propane, mostly. And that our transportation network is powered almost exclusively with imported petroleum. Maine is a dirty power state, and we have a very long road to getting to carbon neutrality. Poliquin’s column – and similar jeremiads from the anti-NECEC crowd – misuse statistics in a way that keeps Maine from moving forward. ~ Peter Freilinger, Scarborough