PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • June 27, 2022
Maine has adopted a bold climate change strategy. How do we convert to a diverse base of renewal energy sources with the least negative environmental impact? For centuries, Maine has been a source of good, clean hydroelectric power. The major environmental impacts of creating these dams were felt centuries ago. New technology will allow up to 96 percent of fish to pass the Shawmut Dam through a fish ladder. However, some say this is not good enough, we must construct a system to allow 99 percent of the fish to pass. To do so, would be economically impossible and require the closing of the Shawmut Dam. Such a result would send us on a backward course in reaching our climate change goals. The environmental improvement of a small number of fish is vastly outweighed by the loss of a significant current source of clean renewable. It is not a choice between the Shawmut Dam and the Atlantic Salmon. It is a choice for both. ~ Sen. Mark W. Lawrence, chair, Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee