Next month, new representatives and a new governor will take control in Augusta.  Many Mainers have remarked that Maine experienced a particularly large “blue wave”.  The people of Maine soundly rejected the policies of Paul LePage and Republicans in our state legislature. 

Janet Mills, our incoming governor, ran on a platform of rejuvenating all of Maine’s economy and environmental stewardship.  Mill’s and her partners in the state legislature can act on these promises by developing Maine’s offshore wind energy infrastructure and reversing a culture of bureaucratic hurdles that deter clean energy developers.  

Given Maine’s extensive swaths of coastline and deep offshore waters, we are uniquely equipped to provide our state as well as the entire nation with renewable, clean energy from off shore wind turbines.   According to the University of Maine, Maine has the potential to produce up to 156 GW (GW stands for gigawatts) from offshore wind; Maine currently uses 2.4 GW of electricity each year. 

Different firms have noticed Maine’s capacity for renewable energy and attempted to establish offshore wind projects in the past decade. However, Maine’s Public Utilities Commission and Paul LePage have consistently obstructed such projects from developers citing taxpayer concerns. 

While other state governments, in areas with slower wind speeds than Maine, advance towards the future and support concrete plans for offshore wind energy, clean energy entrepreneurs in Maine struggle with turbulent policy.  Meanwhile, older, industrial economies in Maine continue to struggle to stay afloat. In an interview this September with Energy News, Benjamin Brown, the project coordinator for Maine Ocean & Wind Energy Initiative (MOWII), said, “The instability around energy policy in the state of Maine has negatively impacted the business community and has negatively impacted the economy”.

This spring the Maine Public Utilities Commission chose to renegotiate terms of their agreement with Aqua Ventus, a group attempting to install two turbines off the coast of Monhegan Island, stalling their already significantly delayed project. 

Governor LePage has consistently opposed any off shore wind projects and demonstrated no interest in compromise or negotiation with Aqua Ventus or other firms. Thus, Maine’s off shore wind energy economy remains at a stand still. 

The mistakes of Paul LePage and the Public Utilities Commission are reversible.  Maine still has a chance to catch up and revive its economy as an emerging leader of innovation in clean energy via off shore wind.

During her campaign, Mills explicitly supported legislation that supports off shore wind projects.  Furthermore, Mills hopes to integrate economic and environmental questions through the creation of a Maine Energy Commissioner.  This commissioner would work with the Public Utilities Commission to advocate for taxpayer and environmental concerns. 

It is imperative that Janet Mills acts on these promises.

Janet Mills: It is your duty to enact the policy you promised to the Mainers who elected you into office.  Support for offshore wind holds enormous opportunity for our state. If your policy is executed correctly and in a timely manner,

Maine could emerge as a renewable energy leader and attract clean energy developers, for off shore wind energy and other renewables, from across the country. 

Lenoir Kelley is a senior and environmental studies and history major at Bowdoin College in Brunswick.  In her studies, Lenoir has taken a particular interest in the renewable energy scene in New England.