BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 27, 2023
Gov. Janet Mills has a good chance to push through an aggressive new clean-energy goal, an idea that must navigate hypersensitivity to high costs, skepticism and budding opposition from legislative Republicans. Energy development has had recent fits and starts. The $1 billion Central Maine Power Co. corridor was under development when the governor took office but was rejected by voters in 2021 and sits in legal limbo. But a massive wind transmission line connecting Aroostook County with the regional grid is nearly as big as the corridor and sailing toward approval. Maine’s clean-energy hopes are largely tied to offshore wind. Environmental groups hailed the governor’s clean-energy proposal after her budget speech. But the Legislature’s history on major energy policies has energy experts watching closely in a state that remains the most dependent on heating oil.