Maine governor repeals predecessor's attempt to ban projects

摘要

Maine's new Democratic governor has signed an executive order allowing state agencies to consider new wind energy projects in areas of Maine where her predecessor had sought to prohibit them. Gov. Janet Mills' office said Friday she signed an executive order a day earlier that repeals and replaces former Republican Gov. Paul LePage's January 2018 order. That measure called a halt to permits for new wind projects in western and coastal areas of Maine, as well as avian migratory pathways. But LePage's administration told a judge last year it was essentially ignoring the order, which survived a legal challenge. Since the order, Maine's Department of Environmental Protection has processed and continues to review proposals for two new wind projects, according to department spokesman David Madore. However, the agency has not issued any new wind permits in that time. Mills' order explicitly says state agencies, including the Maine Public Utilities Commission, can resume considering wind turbine applications. The new governor has said Maine should embrace renewable energy to combat climate change, a marked reversal from LePage, who called wind a "boutique energy source" in 2012. The order garnered praise from the Natural Resources Council of Maine.