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Maine has abundant sources of renewable energy—this wind turbine produces one third of the electricity for Maple Hill Farm B & B and Conference Center.
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As winter’s grip on the state deepens, Environment Maine’s efforts to reduce Maine’s reliance on dirty, imported fossil fuels are in full swing. Environment Maine is working on legislation to make Maine more energy-efficient and promote clean energy production in the state.
A bill to increase Maine’s energy efficiency, sponsored by Sen. Phil Bartlett, would increase the number of towns adopting energy-efficient building codes, increase funding for energy efficiency programs, promote stronger efficiency standards for furnaces and boilers and assist schools in improving energy efficiency.
Our other focus is a comprehensive bill promoting clean energy (LD 1065) that was held over to from last session. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Michael Brennan, would set a requirement that 10 percent of our state’s electricity come from clean energy sources such as wind or solar, by 2015.
Global warming and air
The fastest and most inexpensive way to reduce power plant emissions is to implement stronger energy efficiency programs. By cutting peak demand, the dirtiest plants that do not operate too frequently, like Wyman Power Station, will not be required to keep the lights on across Maine. These reduced emissions could help our air pollution problem and reduce our global warming pollution.
Meanwhile, transitioning away from dirty fuel sources to clean renewable wind, solar, tidal, clean biomass and wave power is the other part of the solution to cutting power plant pollution and curbing global warming. According to a report by Environment Maine Research & Policy Center, Maine could meet all of its energy needs from these clean renewable sources.
A growing number of clean energy projects
The Mars Hill wind farm is under construction, four other wind farms are in the testing and permitting phase and Maine is partnering on a free-flowing tidal energy project in Passamaquoddy Bay. Combined with energy efficiency, renewable energy could eliminate the need for building more, or extending the life of, dirty power plants.
Stabilizing energy prices Maine could decrease electricity demand between now and 2012 by expanding effective efficiency programs, according to officials at Efficiency Maine. Reduced demand for energy would have the dual benefit of decreasing individual consumers’ bills and decreasing the cost of energy. The laws of supply of demand and our interconnected reliance on fossil fuels for home heating and electricity means that as demand for energy falls, electricity, natural gas and heating oil costs would also fall. |
