PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • April 15, 2022
We must rapidly decarbonize our electricity grid to mitigate the climate crisis, and we must find effective and affordable ways to do so. L.D. 1634 establishes the Maine Generation Authority, which would issue low-cost revenue bonds, backed by electricity ratepayers, to finance new renewable generation and storage projects in Maine. Another way to facilitate this energy generation would be through L.D. 1350, Report C, an amendment that empowers the Efficiency Maine Trust to affordably finance renewable-energy projects using an existing contracting process at the Public Utilities Commission. The Maine Generation Authority and L.D. 1350, Report C, provide a pathway forward. Research shows we will save tens of billions of dollars in our clean-energy transition over the next decades if we pass these bills. We will not be able to afford a cleaner future if we don’t spend our money wisely. ~ Rep. Nicole Grohoski, D-Ellsworth, and Anna Siegel, Maine Youth for Climate Justice