Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — A clean-energy coalition kicked off a two-day visit Sept. 29 and 30 to the Star City, with representatives discussing the need for the state to transition to a more environmentally-friendly economy.
Organizers planned a tour, including a series of house parties, panel and community discussions to share ideas on how Maine can make the transition to green technologies. “The development of wind power and other ‘clean’ energy sources would create thousands of new jobs and give a boost to struggling economies in rural Mane,” advocates said during a tour of Aroostook County, that began with a panel discussion at Northern Maine Community College Tuesday evening.
Representatives of a coalition of environmental, labor and clean energy groups touted the advantages of transitioning Maine to a renewable energy economy during the panel discussion at the college.
Organizers on Wednesday, Sept. 30, planned to visit the University of Maine at Presque Isle campus to view the university’s $2 million wind turbine project.
“The turbine will produce an estimated 1 million kilowatt hours of electricity a year, save more than $100,000 in energy costs and remove 572 tons of carbon dioxide annually from the atmosphere,” said Andrew Russell, Maine state communications director for Repower America.
According to Russell, the events were part of the “Maine’s Energy Future” tour, organized by a coalition of Maine-based groups, including Repower Maine, a project of the Alliance for Climate Protection, 1 Sky Maine and the Natural Resources Council of Maine.
“The groups are holding dozens of house parties and community discussions around Maine in the coming weeks to draw attention to the need for Congress to pass comprehensive climate-change and clean-energy legislation. Such a bill would limit greenhouse gas emissions, create a cap-and-trade system for emission permits and provide incentives to create ‘clean’ energy jobs,” said Russell.
The U.S. House passed a bill in June and the U.S. Senate is expected to begin debating a measure this week, added Russell.
An energy reform bill, according to Russell, would create thousands of new “green collar” jobs in Maine and reduce the state’s dependence on fossil fuels, such as home-heating oil, which is used in more than 400,000 homes — more than 80 percent of the houses in Maine.
Organizers of the event called on participants to call or write Maine Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins and urge them to support comprehensive energy reform. The toll-free number to call is 877-9-REPOWER.
“We need Congress to enact a strong clean-energy bill that will lead us out of global warming economic crisis, out of a heating crisis and to a world where we live sustainably with our environment and where we create 10,000 good-paying jobs right here in Maine,” said State Rep. Diane Russell, D-Portland, who is a field organizer for 1 Sky and moderated Tuesday night’s panel discussion involving local community and business leaders.
“It’s crucial for the United States to take a leadership role heading into the international climate-change conference in Copehnhagen, Denmark, in December,” she added.
