If there was one point in common among all 2010 candidates for governor, it would have been that Maine needs to reduce high electric costs. Of course, prices are always relative. Electricity does cost more in Maine than most states, but less than in other New England states. Maine is a relatively low-cost state in a high-cost region.

But as for the fond hope of “reducing” electric costs, we can probably forget it. It sounds nice on the campaign trail, but one only needs to examine petroleum price trends to realize how difficult it would be to achieve.

Since all forms of energy are competitive, price increases in one area affect the entire market. At best, Maine can hope to moderate future increases in electricity and energy costs while other regions move away from cheap coal-fired electricity plants, by far the dirtiest and most environmentally damaging form of electricity production.

Nonetheless, a great deal is at stake in decisions we’re now making about how to generate electricity. The recent controversy about the LePage administration’s stance on offshore wind power is a very big deal — far more consequential than most budget items currently preoccupying the Legislature.

One incontestable economic achievement of the Baldacci administration was its encouragement and leadership on wind power. John Baldacci pushed through a law to streamline wind farm permitting; and though it could have used more legislative scrutiny, its basic purpose of making Maine the New England leader in land-based wind generation has been achieved.

Now, Maine stands positioned to become a national leader in offshore wind, in part because of the state’s support of the research and development at the University of Maine under the leadership of Prof. Habib Dagher, a rare visionary among Maine business leaders.

A major wind energy conference will be held in Portland this week. In the run-up to the conference, however, the hot topic was whether Paul LePage supports offshore wind development sufficiently, or at all.

Signals have been, at best, mixed. Ken Fletcher, the governor’s energy adviser, says offshore wind would cost far more than current sources – 27 cents per kilowatt hour versus 16 cents – a claim Dagher hotly disputes. He says Fletcher was referring to a small pilot project’s costs, and claims that, eventually, offshore wind could cost just 8 to 10 cents.

My own sense is that Dagher may be too optimistic, but surely Fletcher is too pessimistic. Effective new technologies, like wind generation, always decrease in price as they are widely implemented, and – before our eyes – Maine is on the verge of becoming a major new player. Nearly 1,000 megawatts of wind power is already installed or being permitted on land, and the offshore potential is much greater.

We don’t need to embrace pie in the sky to see that this could not only provide moderate-cost electricity for Maine, but could spawn a major new manufacturing industry employing 5,000 people or more – the first on that scale since the heyday of the paper mills.

Some of the most alarming statements in a recent Bangor Daily News story came from another university professor, James LeBrecque, identified as a LePage adviser but who has no formal role. LeBrecque’s comments verged on the loony. Sample: “The dismal performance of alternative energy systems is limited by nature, and not technology.” And again: “When the wind stops blowing and the sun stops shining, you’re dead in the water.”

Actually, it’s the consistency of wind over the Gulf of Maine that’s the primary attraction of offshore wind, making it at least as reliable as, say, the average nuclear power plant. And it’s clearly the limitations in our conversion of energy – i.e. technology – that holds back alternative energy, not “nature.” If we could unlock the energy potential of hydrogen, for instance, electricity really would be “too cheap to meter,” though no one thinks we’re close to that breakthrough.

Still, the impression has been created that LePage doesn’t support offshore wind power. “The momentum created by the Baldacci administration seems to be in jeopardy,” observed the U.S. director for one of Europe’s largest wind power companies.

The governor has repeatedly said Maine is “open for business,” and that he’ll spare no effort to create private sector jobs. LePage has recently limited the loose talk that caused so much unnecessary controversy in his first months in office, but now he faces a more consequential test.

Will he let the fact that wind power is associated with his two most recent predecessors – Angus King is also a major booster – dictate his stance? Or will he objectively and thoroughly investigate a major new business opportunity for the state?

Douglas Rooks is a former daily and weekly newspaper editor who has covered the State House for 25 years. He may be reached at [email protected].