BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 19, 2021
Maine must shift from fossil fuels like heating oil and natural gas to clean energy options. Over the next decade, Maine can do this by expanding electric building heating and electric transportation choices; increasing clean energy generation, storage, and delivery of renewable energy; and modernizing its electricity grid. This transition will require a clean and equitable transmission and utility distribution system and a shared vision to build it. To ensure good decisions that earn public support, Maine must fundamentally reform its outdated approach to energy planning and decision-making. We recommend Maine enact two fundamental changes. First, remove conflicts of interests by separating the entity that conducts energy planning from the entity that builds, owns, and earns revenue from the projects. Second, modernize the electricity grid with greater stakeholder engagement and the holistic planning that Maine deserves. ~ Dan Sosland, Acadia Center