Clean energy only matters when it’s connected directly to big bucks and I am tired of seeing Central Maine Power ads everywhere I look.

What do Dr. Han Neu, Dr. Brad Hager, and Dr. David Schindler all have in common? They all have extensively and scientifically studied Hydro Quebec dams and conclude that the energy provided by Hydro Quebec is not clean by any stretch of the word. Dr. Stephen Kasprzak submitted written testimony (October 2018) to the Maine Public Utilities Commission stating that HQ contributed to the decline in cod and shrimp stocks in the Gulf of Maine.

While CMP claims HQ will provide clean energy for the NECEC, the facts and research show the exact opposite.

Those 1,600 jobs promised as a result of the $300 million contract signed with Cianbro? Well, this is a Cianbro joint venture with companies from Mississippi, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. Jobs for Mainers? And let’s not forget how many jobs Mainers will lose because 3,500 acres will be completely flattened and will not counterbalance the emissions “benefit” Clean Energy Matters so often exclaims.

The huge, shallow lakes created by these gigantic dams are more like the Dead Marshes through which Gollum guided Sam and Frodo than they are some clean, flowing river. The methane bubbling up and methyl mercury seeping down are only two of the many “benefits” provided by this “clean power.”

CMP and its Spanish parent ought to understand that good projects speak for themselves.

Richard Aishton, Farmington

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