I’m a Woolwich selectboard member who no longer supports the CMP corridor, and here’s why. This is a bad idea for Maine and her energy future. First, the hydropower that is fueling this project has been harmful to the environment and native peoples of Canada. And more dams are planned.
Second, Maine needs more generation of renewable energy and this project is about transmission. This project will mean reduced demand for the types of community solar projects that are now possible in Maine. This plan may even clog up our grid, making it more difficult for these local projects to move forward.
What we need is a better plan, one that is a more distributed grid for the future. This reduces the need for poles and wires, and provides more local control and reliability for our energy needs. The current CMP proposal to build “what we have” and what works for today, does not address the needs for tomorrow.
Another issue is local control. Municipalities should get to decide what happens within their borders. While CMP already owns the property in most of the proposed corridor, Towns have always had some say in how private entities use their property in conducting their business. It should be no different with this project, and yet if CMP cannot reach agreement with the municipalities, it can (and will) appeal over the heads of Towns to the Maine PUC.
Finally, we now know that CMP has known about its smart meter problems since 2012 and yet its billing problems have still not been solved. I have trouble trusting this company with big projects like this.
Maine has a bright future in renewable energy. This project harms that future.
Allison Hepler,
Woolwich
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