MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • January 16, 2022
A study in contradictions, natural gas is both helping to keep the lights on and contributing to the risk of rolling blackouts. Its role in the region's energy grid will remain a factor in Maine for years to come. Policymakers in Maine and the rest of New England are pushing an urgent transition to renewable energy to fight climate change, largely by encouraging solar and wind power. But despite the growth of renewables, natural gas plants will still make up half of the region’s generating capacity in 2022.