Good morning from Augusta. Gov. Paul LePage’s administration is seeking public comment on wind energy development after a controversial executive order on that issue earlier this year, but LePage and his staff aren’t saying who is on an advisory panel after disclosing in a lawsuit that it was formed in May.
It’s a continuation of LePage’s broad and contested executive order looking to block new wind permits in Maine. In January, the Republican governor issued a broad executive order seeking to block new wind permits in areas except for eastern Aroostook County and setting up a new Maine Wind Energy Advisory Commission to study the economic impact of wind turbines. The governor also exempted that commission from Maine public records law.
It was followed by two lawsuits from the Conservation Law Foundation, an environmental group, and the Maine Renewable Energy Association, which represents wind energy producers. Both argue that the order should be tossed for violating separation-of-power provisions because state law provides for expedited wind energy permitting in much of rural Maine.
To read the rest of “LePage’s wind energy commission is picked, but he won’t say who’s on it,” an article by contributing Bangor Daily News staff writer Michael Shepherd, please follow this link to the BDN online.
