MAINE PUBLIC • July 23, 2024
Maine regulators have approved new rules advocates said could offer a financial lifeline to Maine farms contaminated with toxic chemicals. Under a measure authorized by the Maine Public Utilities Commission, the state will open a competitive bidding process to develop nearly 600,000 megawatts of new clean power, equal to 5% of Maine retail electricity sales in 2021. The process will prioritized proposed developments sited on agricultural land tainted by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS. More than 50 Maine farms have been found to have unsafe levels of PFAS in water and soil. Some farms have had to stop selling produce, milk, eggs and meat from their land.