To the Editor:

A bill in the Maine legislature, LD 1658, would finally ensure some accountability for companies pushing big energy projects if they claim climate benefit’s that are false. First verification on the list would be the NECEC (CMP) corridor.

LD 1658, while not stopping the corridor, would require a study of the corridor’s global greenhouse gas impact after operating for one year. Fines could be levied if the corridor caused net increases in greenhouse gas emissions.

We shouldn’t simply believe Avangrid, one of CMP’S parent owners when they told us the corridor was “clean” and would help reduce climate change.

Hydro Quebec needs to build new dams to keep pace with electricity demand, including demand from Massachusetts after the corridor is running. Right now, the company can’t even keep the lights on for its own people. Methane emissions from the new dams will mean, in terms of climate impact, that Hydro Quebec may as well be running a new coal fired power plant or two.

LD 1658 would require a study of the corridor’s global greenhouse gas impact once in operation, with fines permitted if the corridor’s impact means a net increase in greenhouse gas emissions. If Avangrid was telling the truth about the corridors climate impact, then theirs nothing to worry about. The legislature should pass LD 1658 to verify Avangrid’s claims of greenhouse gas reduction, and then we’ll finally find out the truth about the corridor’s impact on the climate.

Peter McKeown

Turner

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