MAINE MONITOR • November 10, 2024
As Maine’s aging dams require significant investments to meet stringent environmental standards and continue operating, will their owners double-down and do what it takes to keep them running, or will state influence and local opposition send them to retirement? These complex decisions are more urgent than ever. Maine must fulfill its quickly approaching renewable energy goals, and is pursuing more wind and solar projects to do so. Meanwhile, state policies on water quality and fish passage are more influential than ever, and proponents of aquatic habitat restoration are galvanizing to flood public comment forums on dam operation licenses with pro-dam removal messaging. What happens with Maine’s remaining dams could have dramatic implications for the communities that have been shaped by these structures for centuries and for the state’s renewable energy portfolio.