Angus King spoke to the Bethel Chamber of Commerce early on Oct. 12. One of his first statements, “Eighty percent of Maine’s energy comes from oil,” is an out-and-out lie.

On March 31, the Wall Street Journal published a chart of renewable energy by state. That chart, based on research done by the Energy Information Agency of the U.S. Department of Energy, shows that Maine is one of five states in the United States having 50 percent or more of its energy produced from renewable sources. Maine happens to fall right at 50 percent.

In Maine, looking at the sources of that 50 percent of energy as a renewable source, hydropower accounts for 51 percent of the renewable source picture and wind accounts for a whopping 3.67 percent of the renewable picture.

Therefore, looking at energy consumption in Maine as a whole (renewable and non-renewable sources), wind provides less than 2 percent of the state’s total energy, while oil obviously comes in at less than 50 percent.

Maybe King gets his inflated numbers from his good friends at First Wind.

Approximately 200 wind turbines (littering the landscape) provide less than 2 percent of the total energy used in Maine. Plus, wind is not a constant, so gas-powered plants are backup for wind power.

Wind power is not as green or as energy-efficient as many would like people to believe.

Let’s get the figures straight.

Merrylyn Sawyer, Wayne

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