Smart, green choice is no on Question 1 - Kennebec Journal & Morning Sentinel

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Question 1, on the CMP corridor, should be a simple decision for anyone who believes in catastrophic global warming and cleaner air for Maine. We have an opportunity to vote to bring 1200 megawatts of clean power onto the New England grid. It is a chance to vote for a significant project that will reduce U.S. annual CO2 production by 3.6 million tons annually and result in cleaner air and power for Maine.

One argument against the corridor is that it is not “new” green energy. Some want to see hundreds of new wind turbines and hundreds of acres of new solar panels. That solution also comes with an environmental impact. One inconvenient truth is that wind turbines and solar panels have about a 25-year life. The International Renewable Energy Agency projects that 78 million metric tons of solar panels will reach their end of life in 2050 and will be in the waste stream.

The case for wind turbines is not much better. Decommissioning costs are estimated in the hundreds of thousands for each wind turbine and many of the large components such as blades and housings will have to be cut up and buried.

Fifty years from now that corridor will be quietly distributing clean energy, two generations of solar panels and wind turbines will be recycled/buried, and we will be building our third generation of solar and wind turbines.

The smart and green choice is to vote no on 1 and build the corridor.

Joe Grant

Wiscasset

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