Much of the opposition to this project appears to be based on the fact that it is proposed by Central Maine Power.
What if this was proposed by the Natural Resources Council or the Audubon Society or the Independent System Operator of New England (ISO-NE)?
Would our opposition be the same?
If we could judge this project on only its merits would the feelings be the same? What are the gains and losses? The gains as I envision are:
1) Everything stays as is —delayed broadband access, potential loss of dispatchable power
2) Natural gas generating plants will be built as aging power plants are retired. This will increase carbon emissions.
3) There may be other gains but I am at loss to see them
What do we (the Maine people) lose if this project isn’t completed?
1) $ 5 million dollars (5 years) to support economic development for Franklin County
2) $15 million dollars (5 years) for broadband infrastructure for host communities
3) $4 million dollars(5 years)for vocational programs for Franklin and Somerset County
4) $1million dollars (5 years) for internship and scholarships to UMF
5) $18 million dollars (first year) estimated property tax to host communities
The first year estimates are listed below.
This is free money with no cost to existing infrastructure such as roads, school, water or sewer – just additional revenue.
6) $2.5 million dollars for decarbonization and planning studies
7) $2 million dollars for University of Maine Wind Technology
8) $15 million dollars (8years) for installation of heat pumps-Heat Pump Fund
9) $50 million dollars (40 years) Low-Income Customer Benefits Fund
10) $140 million dollars (40 years) Rate Relief Fund for CMP’s retail customers
These are some of the things that go away if this project isn’t completed.
We as Maine people need to take a long hard look at what this project REALLY means to us and our grandchildren.
Delbert Reed
Freeman Township
I don’t want it because Massachusetts does…enough said.
It’s funny what Mizer said.
I assume it was sarcastic.
But even if he actually meant it,
Why is that any worse than those that are supporting the corridor Manila because they think the opposition is a bunch of Treehugging Hippies?
I don’t live in Mass because it is fast and furious down there (mostly).
I don’t want Maine to be like that.
It may end up that way but I favor delaying that as long as possible and paying the consequences,,, thankfully.
So I oppose a lot of progressive things,,, for that reason.
I can assure you,, I’m the opposite of a Treehugging hippie.
Delbert,,
You’re concerned about CMPS reputation causing people to be LEARY OF the project,,,??!!!
Really??
JD POWERS RANKED CMP AS ONE OF THE WORST IN THE NATION!!
That’s unbiased coming from them.
C’MON MAN!!
We in Maine might be slow (on purpose),,,
But we’re not stupid.
I repeat,,, “C’MON MAN !!!
Yup just like a portion of the lottery proceeds were going to do so much for public schools and lower taxes. Didn’t happen just like these promises that will be eaten up by the greedy politicians. No corridor
“These are some of the things that go away if this project is not completed”
There are some things that money just cannot buy.
I live in Maine because of those things. The Trees, The Wilderness, The Mountains, The Wildlife, The Hunting, The Serenity. The tough- “I’ll never be rich” lifestyle that Maine requires from a majority of us.
Not in my backyard. I want MY Grandchildren to have the opportunity to experience all of that.
Delbert, really? Have you been drinking that KOOL-AID again?? No CORRIDOR ! CMP was rated worse than PG&E out in California and they went bankrupt last year and are turning peoples power on and off as they please when it gets too windy. Again REALY Dilbert? You trust this company?
But it is being proposed by CMP Mr. Reed. And that is so heinous that even the parent companies of CMP, AVANGRID and lberdola are trying to bury that fact.
May l also take a moment to point out that the CMP/AVANGRID/Iberdola propaganda spin machine is also trying too distance itself from the fact that the NECEC is in reality, a high powered transmission line connection to Massachusetts. You see, it is no longer the New England Clean Energy Connect. It is now the New England Clean Energy Corridor that somehow benefits just Maine. Perhaps they want dissociate from Massachusetts like they do CMP.
Just another smoke screen by three for profit corporations. Maine isn’t for sale. That will be made abundantly clear at the polls in 2020.
I am wondering what will happen from the land owners that stand to lose millions if this doesn’t go in. If I had a large parcel of land the corridor was going to cross and I could set my family up financially from letting it go over my land I would be pretty upset to see it get shut down. I would close my land off to everything at that point, if someone can stop me from making a comfortable living off a piece of land I own then why on earth would I allow those same people to use my land. Every action has consequences.
I have a lot of respect for Del Reed and welcome any of his comments!!
Yes DELBERT,, anyone can post their land.
And guess what,,
We’re fine with that.
NO CORRIDOR !!
And every landowner in this deal knew there was a risk. Including CMP.
The haters are going to hate, that’s why they hate, and that is why Maine is becoming more and more backwoods, these so called progressives are progressive as long as their state is left alone. Anybody been to Damriscotta lately? The little town was dying, boarded up doors, for sale, for lease signs up in what were once at some point thriving stores on Main street, Walmart came knocking and offered to build a store(where current Hannaford’s is, empty lot then), Damriscotta quickly passed an ordinance no box stores over 25,000 square ft so as to maintain that small town Maine feel, Walmart’s entryway is practically 25,000sqft, Since Walmart couldn’t tailor its store to fit the small footprint set by the town Walmart was out, people started to leave and more shops closed, But Hannaford’s was like CHALLENGE ACCEPTED, they had been playing with a small footprint store idea for a while and opened 2 20,000sqft stores, one in Berwick and and one in Damriscotta, thanks to the tax money given to the town of Damriscotta by Hannaford’s and others, Damriscotta is a thriving small town in Maine, with open stores on Main street thanks to small business loans the town now had money to fund, people opened new stores and breathed new life into a dying town.
People in Franklin county can accept it or not, Franklin county is dying, barely sustained by Farmington, Wilton and Jay. What happens if the company that bought Verso decides to close it entirely, then how does Jay get money, with the NECEC using the part of the corridor that is already there, Jay stands to get almost half a million dollars a year. And for what, some trees in Northern Franklin and Somerset counties that are going to be cut down anyway by one of the 5 logging operations who are and have been working and who will continue to work that area? I am still waiting for the naysayers to come up with a good reason why they don’t want it, and the whole NIMBY nonsense just ain’t gonna cut it, because your backyard stops at your property line.
Heartless. Sometimes- I enjoy the mental stimulation that you bring to the table ….kudos man. But, at the end of every conversation/debate, I always end up feeling so bad for you. You just might need someone to love. I will speak loud and clear, with my own name…..NIMBY….Take me the river…
So what you are saying is that we Mainers should be open to bribery at the expense of our natural beauty and resources? I don’t care who proposed this mess, it is not right for Maine!
@C’MON MAN !!!…CMP was ranked dead last!
Just wondering if the ‘oppositioners’ were opposed to the construction of the Maine Turnpike and the Interstate System in Maine………….
Hrtlss,
Damiriscotta,.
Yes what s great place it is.
Go there often.
Thanks for defending our point about locals pushing back against big corporations just like Damiriscotta did,,
And Hannaford changed their ways..(as you said).
Great Result.
BUT,,. “CMP AIN’T HANNAFORD”. (Whoops).
WHEN IS CMP GOING TO CHANGE THEIR WAYS???
They (unlike Hannaford) are trying to shove this corridor down our throats…
What happened between Damiriscotta and Hannaford ended great..
The problem is that CMP Ain’t Hannaford !!!
CMP IS PROVEN CORRUPT.
They will only change of forced to change.
Even then,, they require constant oversite to prevent them from continuing to screw their customers (the public).
Btw,,
The people of Damiriscotta saved the town , not some corporation.
We understand that annoys you.
Get over it, because the people of Maine are only trying to do the same thing with the CMP crooks.
Love My State!!
No Corridor.
Hrtlss, What if your backyard were next to this line and the future widening of this line, and due to this you expect to lose significant value on the property that is your back yard? Or you stand to lose land to CMP via eminent domain for any future widening. Would you be all for it then? Answer truthfully. Let me help you. You would not choose to loose potentially tens of thousands of dollars on YOUR property value so that you could blindly support CMP. So for those of us, hundreds if not thousands, of land owners along this proposed line that will be impacted, please cease the NIMBY nonsense. Everybody says “it isn’t costing Mainers a penny!” This is simply false.
Delbert, Fair question. If for instance CMP was the Delbert Power Company, and you, Delbert conducted yourself in the same manner as CMP, I would be opposing the Delbert Power Company. Also with all of the “free” money you mention, have all of these towns looked at the school funding formula from the state and done the math to determine how and if this additional tax revenue may impact their state educational reimbursement. There is no such thing as “free” money.
Have a good day Gentlemen.
HB, there is no way to prove that ” if ” this project isn’t completed the area will turn into a ghost town. It’s called the circle of life. It will work out, one way or the other. Either way someone is going to be unhappy.
Is it really accurate to say that we should accept this corridor, because there are no other good options?
Or more accurate to say no other options have been offered yet?
Is it really unlikely that any other options will be created?
I don’t really want to rip a corridor through Maine before we have
*expanded corporate environmental responsibility
*optimized efficiency
*expanded and improved public transportation infrastructure
I’m not saying the money for the region would be nothing, but money goes fast, and once the corridor has been made, we can’t undo it (or at least it would be very difficult).
BARE MINIMUM we need broader community support before we commit.
Hey CMP….Shake the ‘Tree Of Liberty’ and this is the response you will get from Mainers every time. We have been sleeping and giving you rope for long enough…
What do you not understand about the word ‘NO’
Delbert helps prove the point that we see time and time again. The proponents of this proposal are blinded by the $$$ – MONEY – $$$. The ultimate God of our times, the almighty dollar. And it’s FREE money! The best kind of all! Most people are just tired of the never ending development – growth – growth – growth. When does it ever end? What forests would be left? Just parks? Some see, feel, understand, know, experience and appreciate having near-by “relative” wilderness. And those that live up there depend so much upon that open country for their businesses. I grew up in a place where the last remaining house lot that did not get developed was the “woods” I played in with friends. Eventually it got a house put on it. I don’t want all of Maine’s mountains covered in wind mills. I don’t want the NECEC. I don’t want an E – W highway built for Canada. There are places for development and there are places that should be left undeveloped.
One more thing: The promise of money for towns NEVER turns out to be the panacea people think it will be. It first doesn’t turn out to be as much as CMP “estimated.” Second, towns then get less from the state revenue sharing. And third, what’s left is almost always overspent (because they “planned” on getting more). FREE MONEY = WATCH OUT FOR THE TRAP!
A pocket full of money will not replace the magnificence of Maine’s wild forests. There is no dollar amount or mitigation worth the permanent loss of what makes Maine unique in an ever expanding industrial world.
Glen Holt, I can offer some insight into that, the interstate doesn’t run through Franklin county, so they wouldn’t care about it.
Mainah, You asked me a question, then put words in my mouth by offering what you want my answer to your question to be, most people who want to engage in a meaningful debate, ask a question, then courteously wait for an answer. So since you saw fit to presume what you thought my answer should be, I will not acquiesce to your question and answer.
Nimby Heaven, Hannaford’s IS a big corporation, owned by a bigger corporation from the Netherlands, which is why I chose to use Hannaford and Damriscotta as my example.
This corridor has already been permitted…to go through Vermont. Let it go there and we all will be happy again.
Gilbert, As you know those “new tax revenues” are just estimates and historically CMP has inflated their new construction property tax estimates. I personally think CMP can not be trusted on this project or any other(s) at this time.
Hrtlss…. Now dating myself… Would they have been up at arms if they had been around when the Wilton bypass (US 2) was proposed?
Yes Hrtlss HANNAFORD is s big corporation ( I didnt say it wasn’t)…
I JUST SAID IT IS DIFFERENT THAN CMP.
HANNAFORD DOESN’T HAVE A DISHONEST/ INCOMPETENT REPUTATION……CMP DOES.
HANNAFORD HAS GOOD CUSTOMER SATISFACTION……CMP DOES NOT (that’s true for me personally as well as the JDPOWER ranking them as the worst of the worst).
HANNAFORD WORKED WITH THE PEOPLE OF DAMIRISCOTTA….CMP IS ATTEMPTING TO SHOVE THE PROJECT DOWN OUR THROATS.
HANNAFORD LISTENED…CMP IS SPINNING LIES.
THIS IS WHY YOUR EXAMPLE IS IRRELEVANT.
HANNAFORD AND CMP ARE APPLES AND ORANGES.
AND AGAIN,, THE PEOPLE OF DAMIRISCOTTA SAVED DAMIRISCOTTA,,, NOT HANNAFORD OR ANY OTHER COMPANY.
SORRY BUT THE PEOPLE MATTER…
We are still waiting for the discount on our electric bill promised by the Windmill projects! The only difference I can see is that I have to look at those disgusting towers on our beautiful mountains and wonder if that has to do with the decline in our bird population. They spoil our mountains by greening the palms of certain political people and don’t care about our lovely mountains, which will NEVER, EVER recover from the destruction. Every time I see them all lined up on the mountain tops it makes me very sad. Why didn’t they put them on the top of NH mountains, they are much higher and have a lot more wind, Mt Washington probably would have more wind than all that are now in use in Maine. Did NH reject them?
We should ask NH why they rejected the NECEC from tearing up their land for a corridor and do the same.
NO CORRIDOR, NO CORRIDOR, I DONT CARE WHAT THE FIGURES ARE, FAKE!!!!
It’s not my small parcel of land being shut off that you should be worried about, I was just using it as an example. What I personally am thinking about is the tens of thousands of acres the paper company’s own. They have every right to gate/close all their roads and post all their land.
Delbert, why do you hate Maine? What has she done to you?
Delbert’s CMP/Iberdola/Avangrid stock is in danger I’d say, as they were just rated the worst utility in the country behind thrice bankrupt PG&E who has set California on fire two years in a row.
CMP says a lot of things, makes a lot of promises, puts a lot of numbers out there…do not trust them now, or based on their history.
The current CMP TV commercials, under the guise of the “Clean Energy Corridor” because they are afraid of there own bad name, are a series of half truths and misinformation There is much more to come as they literally have billions to make exploiting Maine if they can push this through.
In every setting where an honest debate has occurred, the people of Maine have unanimously said NO.
At the very least, the people should have a say in something that will alter the character of our state forever. Especially when it is based on hogwash and profits for two foreign mega-corps who do not give one hoot about Maine.
Join our opposition at Say NO to NECEC on Facebook, and look in the events section of that page for an opportunity to sign a petition to bring this to the people.
Yes (AGAIN),, anyone can post their land.
Including large land owners.
And (AGAIN),, Mainers will be just fine.
Here’s the thing,,, (as much as this pisses u off)
Ya Can’t Get Us Mainers Down.
We just keep going and loving every step in our slow Lane.
If you prefer another way,,, I think you can find your way there.
I am very happy here, born and raised Maina that goes back 7 generations when this state was still Massachusetts. I am also an avid outdoorsman that is sick and tired of people moving up here trying to change things and buying up land to post it. Many places I grew up hunting and fishing with my father and grandfather are now posted, so if that means allowing a little power line to cross a part of our state so that tens of thousands of acres remain open for my kids and grandkids to enjoy then I am all for it.
A “LITTLE” power line…here
A “FEW” wind turbines.. Over there
On and on it goes.
Yes I am also sick and tired of out of state developers lying to us so they can line OUR country side with these contraptions.
My family’s been in Maine a very very long time too.
And I hunt and fish and enjoy our outdoors.
I hate those friggin wind contraptions ( what a lie those are).
We don’t need this corridor (someone else “wants” it).
It’s a farce about them posting all their land.
It’s NOT a farce about them lying.
No Corridor.
What if Maine becomes like Massachusetts or New Jersey??
Then where are all those people going to go to get away from “IT” all..?
Then where are they going to “retire” ?
Who will they “look down on” then? Lol.
Maine “IS” the way life would be.
Protect It.
NO Corridor and Sell the wind turbines in a big YARD SALE!!
Del, I appreciate the fact that you provide all of the monetary benefits that the NECEC will produce. However, I find it interesting that you, along with your cmp colleagues, NEVER provide the monetary losses that will result from clearcutting 3500 acres of land. What are the environmental costs to the people of this area? Does your elegant table actually factor in the balance of a benefit/cost analysis? The answer is NO because there has never been a discussion that makes a comparison between the monetary benefits v the environmental losses. That would become clear from an EIS but, of course, cmp would die before they would ever consider an EIS and, in fact, this is to avoided at all costs because it would blow your table above clear out of the water. (you know, that source that provides clean energy where millions of acres have been flooded to provide ‘clean’ power). But I digress. Simply can’t believe that you are part of this cmp hierarchy that believes money overrides all else. I thought that you were a real Mainer? That’s not what Mainers are about. We use FACTS, discuss openly without biases and make decisions based on the unbiased truth. When all of the information is not available then this calls into question anyone who supports something without ALL of the information. I am disappointed in your approach and obvious sellout, exchanging your ethics for a better retirement check.