China residents to vote on high-voltage power line ban after citizens’ petition

Residents will decide in November whether to enact a temporary ban on constructing high-voltage power lines, nearly a year after a controversial proposed renewable energy project was put on hold.

Posted September 4

Dylan Tusinski

Morning Sentinel

EXCERPTS

CHINA — Voters will decide in November whether to adopt a temporary moratorium on new high-voltage power lines within town limits after nearly 250 residents signed a petition in support of the ban.
The petition was presented to the China Select Board at its Aug. 26 meeting in response to the proposed Aroostook Renewable Gateway Project, an infrastructure proposal that would send energy generated by wind farms in Aroostook County to consumers in southern Maine and Massachusetts via roughly 150 miles of high-voltage transmission lines through central Maine.
The project received support from the Maine Public Utilities Commission and state Legislature last year before being approved by Gov. Janet Mills as part of her administration’s goal of getting 100% of Maine’s electricity from renewable power sources by 2040.

But the commission ultimately shot down the project in December last year amid concerns of ballooning costs and lengthy project delays. Before the commission’s decision, the project had an estimated cost of $1.8 billion.
Though there have been no major developments on the project in the months since, the Public Utilities Commission’s administrative director, Amy Dumeny, said the commission is “evaluating next steps.”
While the Aroostook Renewable Gateway Project remains stalled, China resident and petition circulator Josh LaVerdiere says the moratorium is meant to send a signal to potential developers of similar projects that may arise in the future.
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The town’s property values and rural character would likely be negatively impacted by the construction and maintenance of the 110-foot tall transmission towers required by the project, LaVerdiere said...............................................

................................Although the Aroostook Gateway project currently remains stalled, LaVerdiere said the petition continued circulating in order to address underlying concerns that may arise again with future development.
LaVerdiere and other petitioners are also concerned about the potential use of eminent domain to seize residents’ land for the project and a lack of means with which residents can fight back.
“If we succeed and win, then we have 180 days as a town to create an ordinance,” LaVerdiere said. “Whether it has teeth or not against the state or any of these projects will remain to be seen.”

https://www.centralmaine.com/2024/09/04/china-residents-to-vote-on-...

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