Governors' Wind Energy Coalition

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — The LePage administration pushed back against a proposal Tuesday that supporters say would ensure the decision-making process on wind energy proposals in Maine clearly follows the law.

The bill, by Senate President Justin Alfond, D-Portland, would mean several changes for wind energy regulators, including requiring them in instances where their views differ from the hired experts to explain why.

Alfond said his measure would ensure wind regulators at the Department of Environment Protection aren’t using criteria not specified by law to unfairly reject a proposal.

“The DEP continues to use application instructions and policy statements regarding evidence to circumvent the process and impose their own will and judgments,” Alfond told the Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee. “This has directly impacted wind-siting applications in a negative way.”

Maine is New England’s wind power leader with more than 500 megawatts of capacity, but the LePage administration has previously opposed wind energy because of the high cost and several wind project proposals have faced fierce opposition from communities that say the turbines will change the landscape and ruin the views and will endanger wildlife, particularly birds.

The state remains well short of its goal to have 2,000 megawatts of power by wind generation by 2015 and 3,000 megawatts by 2020, or enough energy to power about 900,000 homes.