Hydro-Quebec has certainly stepped up their game lately, with advertisements flooding our lives and letters from their employees showing up in Maine papers touting the “benefits” of their unpopular CMP corridor project. Considering the fact that Hydro-Quebec stands to make $12.4 billion off of this contract with Massachusetts, I would urge my fellow Mainers to take their claims with a grain of salt, or in accordance with their ads, with a drop of rain.
Here are some important facts about this project: Nearly every major environmental group opposes the project because the climate benefits aren’t real. The (many) ads we’re seeing from HQ, a company owned 100% by a foreign government, would be illegal in Quebec. HQ, and their partner CMP, have fought hard to keep information about the source of the power a secret.
This is a bad deal for Maine.
Last year, Energy In Depth Canada published a report by the Montreal Economic Institute which concludes that natural gas will be critical for electrifying Quebec. According to the article, “In the United States, many believe that electrification should be driven only by renewable energy such as solar and wind power. Québec has a contrary view. Hydro-Québec, Québec’s public renewable energy company, faces several challenges in meeting the province’s energy demand.”
Yet HQ is here in Maine claiming that they’re going to power our state with a single drop of rain. Please, let that sink in for a minute.
Folks, we can’t trust these bad actors from away. Please vote yes this November to reject the CMP corridor.
Linda Lee
Bowdoin
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