PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 30, 2021
The recent ruling stopping construction of New England Clean Energy Connect is a blow to renewable-energy development in Maine. The election result reflects deep unhappiness with Central Maine Power Co. Much of the referendum vote “was about punishment” of CMP. At the same time, CMP’s shortcomings were not the only driver of the election outcome. Three of America’s top 12 worst fossil fuel carbon polluters – NextEra Energy, Calpine Corp. and Vistra Energy – waged a multiyear, multimillion-dollar battle against the Clean Energy Corridor; and in the process, aligned themselves closely with well-intentioned Mainers who hold sincere objections to the project. To meet the existential challenge of our time, we must learn from this Maine experience so we may succeed in the fight against the single greatest threat to Maine’s natural environment – climate change! ~ Richard Barringer, former Maine conservation commissioner, and Ellen Pope, former co-leader of the Environmental Funders Network