There are about 4,000 miles of electrical corridor in Maine today. We barely notice it. Wildlife moves along it without harm, which is more than can said of our roadways, and yet some among us are convinced an additional 53 miles of corridor constitutes an environmental crisis. It does not.
While the “No CMP Corridor” campaign may have found some folk to argue that this 53 miles of corridor and the hydropower that will move along it constitute an environmental catastrophe, as they distribute signs, none of those arguments have stood up to scrutiny. In fact, since efforts to stop the corridor began we’ve learned that they were largely funded by industries, like solar and natural gas, who would have a greater impact on the environment if called upon to generate the 1,200 megawatts Hydro-Quebec is currently obligated to provide.
Energy is big business. Those in it don’t want to lose profit if they can avoid it. For solar and natural gas interests, that meant investing in a campaign that might have prevented a large influx of cheaper energy from driving prices down. While that’s good for us, the consumer, it’s not good for businesses planning to use the profits they currently enjoy to expand their enterprises.
Here’s the rub. To produce 1,200 megawatts the solar industry would have to install panels on about 10,000 acres, and the natural gas industry would burn about 55,000 gallons. These options are simply more destructive than using hydro facilities currently in place.
Jamie Beaulieu, Farmington
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