ReVision Energy acquires Massachusetts solar company

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • November 9, 2023

Maine's ReVision Energy announced Thursday that it's acquiring the Massachusetts company Sunbug Solar. According to a press release, the acquisition will allow ReVision to better serve Massachusetts customers with all aspects of electrification, including solar power, heat pumps and battery storage. It will also be better positioned to meet Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey's plans to dramatically increase solar power, and put a million electric vehicles on the road by 2030. ReVision, which is employee-owned, has 400 employees, and this acquisition will add another 60.

Maine Transportation Department to rebuild — rather than replace — controversial Machias dike bridge

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • November 9, 2023

The Department of Transportation announced plans Tuesday to rebuild, rather than replace, a controversial dike that carries Route 1 over the Middle River in Machias. Meanwhile, the aging structure is deteriorating quickly, forcing the DOT to make temporary repairs. The so-called dike bridge is equipped with culverts and valves that block tidal flow and fish migrations into the river. As it has deteriorated, salmon advocates and federal regulators had hoped to see it replaced by a bridge. But some upstream landowners objected, and want the dike to be rebuilt instead.

Editorial: Metal mining has no place in future of Katahdin region

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 9, 2023

Pickett Mountain in Penobscot County has what one company has identified as the country’s largest undeveloped reserves of an ore containing valuable and beneficial metals. The site of the deposit is just a few miles away from Baxter State Park and the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, and within the life-giving Mattawamkeag River watershed. The uncertainty inherent in the mining of metals means a proposal now before regulators should not go forward. There is simply too much for Maine to lose. The mine proposed for Pickett Mountain would bring tremendous profits to Wolfden, but it’s very hard to see what it would do for anyone else, or for the future of one of Maine’s most treasured areas.

Opinion: It’s now time for CMP to put energy into what matters

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 9, 2023

At Central Maine Power, our priority continues to be delivering safe, reliable and affordable electricity while building a modern electric grid. By the end of 2023, we will submit a Climate Change Protection Plan to the Maine Public Utilities Commission that outlines ways we propose to identify and quantify risk to the grid. These changes won’t happen overnight. By leveraging the national network of our parent company as well as our global network, Iberdrola, Central Maine Power we can and will make progress toward accomplishing these goals. ~ Joe Purington, chief executive of Central Maine Power

After defeat of Question 3, it’s time to work together to meet Maine’s energy goals

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • November 9, 2023

Mainers rightly expect and deserve responsible electric utilities that are focused on providing reliable, affordable service while facilitating our state’s efforts to accomplish our ambitious energy goals. We take that responsibility seriously. Versant Power has interconnected more than 75 megawatts of solar energy to the grid since 2020, enough to power more than 12,000 homes. We are currently working with the owners of almost 450 active projects to integrate an additional 500-plus megawatts of renewable energy in northern and eastern Maine. This week, voters got to make an informed choice about the energy future they want for our state, and they decided that a forced takeover of our state’s electric utilities is not in Maine’s best interest. We are eager to build consensus and momentum for meeting Maine’s energy and climate goals and delivering the best possible service and value for our customers. ~ John Flynn, Versant Power

Letter: Auburn residents need to stay vigilant about protecting lake

SUN JOURNAL • November 9, 2023

A year’s worth of work on issues around Lake Auburn will be handled in one meeting, including rezoning the area between Gracelawn Road and the yet-to-be established watershed boundary from the Agriculture and Resource Protection Zone to General Business/Community Development. All interested persons should attend this meeting. Public input about the future of Lake Auburn should not be a formality to be checked off as quickly as possible. It’s important to let the Planning Board know, as was demonstrated by the municipal election, that many Auburn citizens do not support development on our lake. ~ Renee Cote, Auburn

New Poll Shows United Support for National Park Wildlife

NPCA • November 8, 2023

New polling shows that Americans are united in the belief that more needs to be done to safeguard national park wildlife. The poll, released by the National Parks Conservation Association, examined park wildlife threats and opportunities related to climate change, development, wildlife corridors and habitat connectivity, ocean plastics and overfishing, the Endangered Species Act, air pollution, and a sampling of species-specific issues. The polling found that most Americans (85% of Republicans, 91% of Democrats) believe more needs to be done to protect national park wildlife.

After voters reject public power, Maine’s path to utility reform is unclear

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 8, 2023

By a margin of 70% to 30%, Maine voters on Tuesday rejected an attempt to buy the assets of Central Maine Power and Versant Power that together provide electricity to 97% of Maine. Rep. Gerry Runte, D-York, a member of the Legislature’s Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee, has proposed performance-based ratemaking, which links electric utility revenue and profit to specific performance goals. Currently, revenues and profits are linked to traditional rate-setting based on a utility’s capital spending. The practice is getting attention in some states, but has run into opposition in Maine from the backers of Pine Tree Power. The lopsided result rejected the creation of an alternative utility, but is not seen as a vote of confidence in CMP and Versant. Patrick Woodcock, president and CEO of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce, implicitly acknowledged that CMP and Versant must change.

Maine voters reject utility takeover after heavy spending from CMP and Versant

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • November 7, 2023

Maine voters on Tuesday rejected an effort to replace Central Maine Power Co. and Versant Power with a new electric utility overseen by an elected board, giving the unpopular utilities a political victory. The no side of Question 3, the highest-profile referendum among the eight questions on Tuesday’s ballot, had 68 percent of votes to 32 percent for the yes side when the Bangor Daily News and Decision Desk HQ called the race at 10:03 p.m. Tuesday. Mainers also on Tuesday were poised to back the CMP-backed Question 1, which aimed to hinder Question 3 if it passed by requiring voters to approve a public utility borrowing more than $1 billion. There would have been a legal showdown if both questions passed, but Question 1 is expected to have little effect by itself.

Maine backs foreign electioneering ban despite Janet Mills’ constitutional concerns

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • November 7, 2023

Maine voters easily passed a ban on foreign electioneering on Tuesday despite concerns from Gov. Janet Mills and media groups that it would violate the First Amendment. The yes side of Question 2 had 86 percent of votes to 14 percent for the no side when the Bangor Daily News and Decision Desk HQ called the race at 9:20 p.m. Tuesday.

Maine will print tribal obligations along with the rest of the state Constitution

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • November 7, 2023

Maine’s historic treaty obligations to tribes will be printed alongside other parts of the state Constitution after voters backed Question 6 in Tuesday’s election. The yes side of Question 6 had 73 percent of votes to 27 percent for the no side when the Bangor Daily News and Decision Desk HQ called the race at 9:18 p.m. Tuesday.

Effort to create Maine publicly owned electric utility fails

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 7, 2023

Voters soundly rejected a proposal to replace Maine’s two utilities with a publicly owned power company. With 50% of the vote counted, support for Question 3, to buy the assets of Central Maine Power and Versant Power, had garnered about 29% of votes statewide. “No” votes accounted for 71% of the ballots. The Associated Press called the race about 9:45 p.m.

Voters pass ban on foreign spending on referendum campaigns

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 7, 2023

Maine voters have passed a referendum to ban foreign governments and affiliated organizations from spending money on state and local referendum campaigns. Ballots were still being counted at 9:30 p.m. when the race was called by The Associated Press. With 224 of the state’s 571 precincts reporting, 86% of those voters supported the proposal with 119,312 in favor and 18,955 opposed, as of 10 p.m.

Downeast Salmon Federation kills 170,000 salmon because of a virus, its largest fish kill

MAINE PUBLIC • November 7, 2023

The Downeast Salmon Federation was forced to kill about 170,000 young salmon last month, after a virus was discovered in a fish hatchery in East Machias. Executive Director Dwayne Shaw said that in routine testing of the Peter Gray Hatchery, the group discovered fish infected with pancreatic necrosis, a virus that's endemic in both fresh and salt water. Shaw said that while all the fish appeared healthy, the presence of the virus forced them to kill all 170,000 salmon and bury them, then perform a deep clean of the facility. The Federation has never had to kill so many fish before.

State changes plans for aging Machias dike bridge

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • November 7, 2023

The state has abandoned its preferred plan to replace the Machias dike bridge. The deteriorating structure, which dates to the Civil War era, carries Route 1 over the Middle River in Machias, according to the Maine Department of Transportation. The state originally planned to replace the Machias dike with a 1,000-foot-long bridge with a middle span allowing the Middle River to flow through. That plan concerned nearby landowners, who worried that would expose their waterfront property to tidal flooding. Instead, the Department of Transportation will continue to use a fully gated dike.

Commentary: Aroostook Renewable Gateway is a failure of imagination

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 7, 2023

LS Power’s “Aroostook Renewable Gateway” would carve a 150-foot-wide corridor through 41 municipalities over 140-160 miles. It would negatively impact hundreds of landowners who would face significantly diminished property values, the marring of generational land, and the prospect of eminent domain. The route would entail clear-cutting around 2,000 acres of forest sequestering nearly 12 million pounds less carbon annually. It will mean inviting more out-of-state firms to construct a massive “gateway grid” that gouges new corridors into the landscape, wrecking ecosystems and tourism alike. Running lines within existing corridors would all but eliminate the cost of clearing new ones; save millions of dollars in environmental impact assessments and mitigation; reduce maintenance and weather-related costs over the system lifetime; curb the threat of expensive lawsuits; offer scalable transmission for future King Pine Wind equivalents with a corridor that’s only 5 feet wide and 5 feet deep; potentially attract millions in federal grant money available for innovative transmission projects; and capitalize on the ability to run fiber-optic cable within the system, helping Maine reach its goal of delivering high-speed internet to rural areas. ~ Joshua Abram Kercsmar, associate professor of Environmental Humanities at Unity Environmental University and vice president of Preserve Rural Maine

Letter: Oppose Maine mine, but rare minerals are still needed

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • November 7, 2023

Wolfden Resources’ mining proposal, reported in this paper, should be rejected. However, it raises global issues of human health, environmental degradation, quality of life and cultural and environmental practices of Indigenous people. Companies will go to the least restrictive places to mine. These places are likely to be low income and marginalized. An inclusive and transparent global conversation should begin now. ~ Jo Myers, Waldoboro

Lobstermen watching closely as federal regulators refine area for potential offshore wind

MAINE PUBLIC • November 6, 2023

Lobster fishermen are watching closely as regulators continue to refine an area in the Gulf of Maine that could be used for offshore wind development, and they're looking for more reassurances that the federal government will avoid popular fishing grounds. The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has identified a 3.5 million acre draft area off the coast of Maine that could be used for commercial offshore wind development. That proposed area excludes most of Lobster Management Area 1, a popular offshore fishing area in Maine. But Zach Jylkka of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said some fishing grounds near or part of LMA 1 are still being studied, because they would be less expensive to develop.

Trash pile at Orrington incinerator spontaneously combusts

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • November 6, 2023

A fire ignited at the Orrington trash incinerator on Friday night. The fire at the Penobscot Energy Recovery Co., or PERC, started before 7:45 p.m., Orrington Fire Chief Scott Stewart said. The fire in the tipping floor area likely started through spontaneous combustion, Stewart said. There were thousands of pounds of trash in the plant.

U.S. regulators will review car-tire chemical that kills salmon

ASSOCIATED PRESS • November 5, 2023

U.S. regulators say they will review the use of a chemical found in almost every tire after a petition from West Coast Native American tribes that want it banned because it kills salmon as they return from the ocean to their natal streams to spawn. The tribes asked the Environmental Protection Agency to prohibit the rubber preservative 6PPD earlier this year, saying it kills fish when rains wash it from roadways into rivers. Other states, including Vermont, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, also wrote the EPA, citing the chemical’s “unreasonable threat” to their waters and fisheries.