Joe Atkinson of Dresden, ME This proposal deserves recognition and praise in the areas of bravado and effort to serve the economic interests of the citizens of Maine. They know that this proposal will meet with the protest of a coalition of environmental obstructionists from across the country who will clamor to capture the support of the Not In My Backyard (NIMBY) groups in Maine.
In 1988, CMP proposed a transmission line to Hydro Quebec- Central Maine Power Company would buy 300 megawatts of electricity over 29 years from Hydro-Quebec, the utility for Quebec, for a total of $4 billion. The New York Times described the project, “The installation of the line would require razing 2,000 acres of trees to cut a 200-foot-wide swath across the Appalachian Trail. 'One of the Ugliest Things'” . John Rowe, then President of CMP, sent the proposal to the legislature; a politically genius move and a departure from the CMP who knew best how to provide for the electrical needs of this state. The Maine Legislature killed the project.
We closed Maine Yankee and replaced its 888 mw with 500 mw combined cycle units in Veazie and Westbrook. Maine Yankee’s lifetime cost of electricity was 2.7 cents per kwhr. That price may have escalated to 3.5 - 4.0 cents with the replacement of steam generators. However, Maine chose to replace a non-carbon emitting source, costing a projected 3.5 cents per kwhr with combined cycle units and a blend of power sources that now cost Maine consumers 9.9739 cents per kwhr and emit 7.72 billion pounds of CO2 per year (I would appreciate a check of the math on the CO2 pounds).
CMP’s efforts should be regarded as “political posturing”. Just as politicians send up “trial balloons”, this announcement is a test case - what reaction from Mainers? Are Maine people really concerned about the reliable supply of electricity? We have most certainly demonstrated that we have no concern about the cost or the green house gas emissions.report abuse