The CEO of Central Maine Power said Thursday that the state will soon enter an “electrification revolution” as more people tap into solar and wind power, switch to heat pumps and drive electric vehicles.

The key will be upgrading the system to keep up with fast-changing technology and increased demand, Joe Purington said during a panel discussion at ClimateWork Maine’s Summit on Maine’s Economy and Climate Change.

“This country went through an Industrial Revolution a time ago,” Purington said. “I think Maine’s going to go through an electrification revolution and when 2040 comes, I hope people will look back at this time and say ‘you know what, Mainers found a way to get their act together’ and position us for success in the future.”

Maine has set a goal of being 100% fueled by clean energy by 2040, which will mean switching away from fossil fuels.

Celina Cunningham, deputy director of the Governor’s Energy Office, said state officials will be looking to make sure the workforce has the skills needed to meet new job demands.

That will mean “training additional workforce in the clean energy space.” 

Nearly 500 people attended the summit organized by ClimateWork Maine, a nonprofit that seeks to help businesses take action to reduce the impacts of climate change.

Alan Caron, the group’s founder, said getting environmentalists and business owners in the same room will help build relationships as the state looks for ways to combat climate change.

“The idea is to begin to think in a new way,” he said. “It’s not, ‘how do I beat the other side’, it’s ‘how do we lock arms and make something happen?’”

In recent years, Maine has been ground zero when it comes to major battles over energy projects.

CMP spent years fighting in court and at the ballot box over a $1 billion project to build a 145-mile transmission line through Maine to bring Canadian hydropower to the New England grid.

In 2021, voters rejected the project, but a court ruling last year cleared the way for CMP to build the line.

Then last year, a group called Pine Tree Power called for the dissolution of CMP and Versant Power, which serves northern and eastern Maine. The proposal, which was rejected by voters, sought to put in place a nonprofit to run the electrical grid.

And in December, state regulators terminated an agreement with a developer who sought to build new lines to bring electricity from a wind farm in Aroostook County to a substation in central Maine when the company could not hold its price.

These examples point to the need for a clear permitting process, said Patrick Woodcock, CEO of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce.

“Open minded is not how I start off with describing the Maine culture,” Woodcock said. “We kind of love the status quo. We love this beautiful state.”

But he’s convinced that to address climate change and keep up with future demand, major electrical infrastructure projects are necessary.......................................................

Continue reading at https://spectrumlocalnews.com/me/maine/news/2024/05/09/cmp-head-say...

  • Celina Cunningham

  • Deputy Director

  • celina.cunningham@maine.gov

  • (207) 530-0366

Celina Cunningham serves as the Governor’s Energy Office as Deputy Director. As Deputy Director, Celina advises the Governor and state leaders on energy policies and programs, leads Maine’s Offshore Wind Initiative, works to secure funding for renewable energy programs and policies in Maine, and leads the renewable energy and markets team. She brings extensive experience to the role with a background in energy, climate, and natural resource management in the public and private sectors. Prior to joining GEO, Celina served as Vice President and Chief of Staff for the Solar Energy Industries Association in Washington, D.C. Before that, she served in the Obama Administration as Senior Advisor at the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and as well as Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary for Lands and Minerals Management at the U.S. Department of the Interior in Washington, D.C. Celina served as Legislative Director for then-U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee. Celina earned a Bachelor of Arts from the Colorado College (in PHILOSOPHY) and is currently obtaining a Master of Business Administration from the University of Maine.

https://www.maine.gov/energy/about

Alan Caron

“We went off to every Catholic church and took all of the silk robes of the priests in an attempt to disrobe or defrock them,” Caron recalls, 49 years later. “They had no monetary value – if we were interested in money we would have been taking other things. But as a political statement, it was a dismal failure.”
A few days later, they’d repacked the stolen items so they could be returned, Caron says, when the police raided his apartment. He’d wind up serving eight months in prison...............

https://www.pressherald.com/2018/09/23/alan-caron-longtime-builder-...

 

************************************* 


Fair Use Notice: This website may reproduce or have links to copyrighted material the use of which has not been expressly authorized by the copyright owner. We make such material available, without profit, as part of our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, economic, scientific, and related issues. It is our understanding that this constitutes a "fair use" of any such copyrighted material as provided by law. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes that go beyond "fair use," you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.