PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • February 9, 2021
Maine ushered in a new era of climate action in 2019, with science-based clean-energy targets and policies that finally promised the mix of ambition and stability Maine people and businesses demand. We committed to bring new sources of clean energy online quickly as we grow our economy and build more resilient communities. At least, we thought we did. Last week, we learned that one company has the ability to scuttle a key component of Maine’s Climate Action Plan. Central Maine Power informed solar developers that its statements about how much it would cost solar projects to connect to the energy grid were incorrect and that an undisclosed number of projects would need to pay millions of dollars more in order to connect to CMP’s transmission system. The PUC must open an investigation to determine how this happened. ~ Sean Mahoney, Conservation Law Foundation; Kathleen Meil, Maine Conservation Voters, and Sue Ely, Natural Resources Council of Maine