With the change in the presidential administration, some people are eagerly awaiting new leadership and others are terrified for the future. There is still another group that is trying to avoid paying attention to Washington at all. However, when I’m at the grocery store or spending time with friends and family these days, one topic never fails to come up: the weather.
If you’ve lived in Maine for a while, it is clear that this winter has not been normal. The recent snow notwithstanding, we are in the middle of a serious drought that affects farmers, businesses and recreation, right on the heels of devastating storms last winter.
I’ve noticed, because I’m a skier. In fact, I used to race biathlon, that strange sport that combines cross-country skiing and target shooting, for Team USA. This year, due to a lack of snow, I’ve had to do most of my skiing more than an hour away on a tiny, man-made loop in Waterville. I know that others are facing similar challenges with passions like snowmobiling and snowshoeing.
Of course, these are just minor inconveniences compared to what some people are facing — such as those who are in the path of the raging wildfires in Los Angeles. Our climate system is becoming both more erratic and more extreme, and we must do more to stop the emissions of fossil fuels that are causing these disasters. The only way that we can do that, while creating good-paying union jobs and stabilizing electricity prices, is to stay the course on offshore wind.
In 2023, the state passed a visionary bill to build at least 3 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2040. This technology is projected to meet a whopping half of Maine’s electricity needs by 2050 (or the supply needed to power roughly a million homes), while reducing our reliance on volatile global markets, protecting our climate and creating jobs in more than 100 occupations, from engineering and planning to biology, legal and business support, and construction and maritime occupations. New research shows this is possible, all while lowering electricity rates and total energy costs.
It is also critical that people make a living wage that will allow them to pay their bills, which is why it is so exciting that the offshore wind industry will create so many family-sustaining union jobs in particular.
Our journey to harness these benefits as a state will be full of ups and downs. Offshore wind projects are inherently long-term endeavors, as is the case with any large-scale energy infrastructure. But these projects are able to continue through changes in administrations and markets, because they are the future — a critical piece of a much larger transition we are making as a society. That doesn’t mean that there is no work to be done in the meantime, though.
As Mainers, we have the power to keep demanding more energy that is clean, affordable and reliable. Frankly, we should have the right to it. If we don’t continue to speak up loudly for this transition, it will still happen, surely. However, it will be slower. A slower transition will mean more costly droughts and more devastating storms. In other words, a less safe world for us all. That is the last thing that I want to see.
So no matter whether your concern is affordable electric bills, a reliable grid, protecting communities from future disasters, or perhaps just being able to get out and enjoy winter, it is a time to remember to speak up. The only way that our state will ever be able to provide these things for all Mainers is by putting the needs of our families first and transitioning rapidly to clean, homegrown energy sources like offshore wind.
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