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MAINE’S FUTURE AS A CLEAN ENERGY LEADER:

Reducing Energy Costs, Transforming Our Economy, and Leading Again on the Environment

APRIL 19, 2018

Authorized by the candidate, paid for by Anna Turcotte, Treasurer.


CONTENTS

I. Introduction: Maine’s generational, transformational clean energy opportunity

II. Where we are today: Maine’s economy and sending our money out of state

III. Clean energy jobs: There are tens of thousands at stake and we want them in Maine

IV. Clean energy leadership priorities: What I would do as governor

A. Reducing Mainers’ energy bills through energy efficiency


B. Working with other New England States to reduce pollution and fund energy efficiency
C. Growing Maine’s own clean energy generation capacity
D. Increasing Mainers’ ability to determine their own energy costs through Smart technology
E. Building one of the first Smart Grids and attracting innovators and jobs to make it work
F. Investing in workforce training so Mainers can benefit from new clean energy opportunities
G. Celebrating and growing Maine’s R&D capacity
H. Truly open for business – consistency and innovation

V. Clean energy as part of an overall conservation and environmental health agenda

VI. Reconnecting to Maine’s environmental history and launching our next century of leadership

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INTRODUCTION: MAINE’S GENERATIONAL, TRANSFORMATIONAL CLEAN ENERGY OPPORTUNITY

Maine has everything it needs to become a regional, national, even global leader on clean energy. We can
reduce energy costs for Maine people and businesses, create and attract thousands of good jobs, and live up
to our environmental leadership tradition by innovating and solving this generation’s major challenges – just as
Senator Muskie, Senator Mitchell, and others before us have done.

The only thing holding us back, the only missing ingredient, is the right leadership.

There are four reasons why I believe clean energy can transform Maine’s economy and Maine’s future – and
why it will be a top priority for my administration.

First, my confidence in this proposal comes from my 17 years as a clean energy entrepreneur in Maine across
multiple technologies and businesses, plus my work helping dozens of other energy businesses succeed and
grow.

Second, I am motivated by my experiences as a soldier and leader in the Maine Army National Guard through
three combat tours and some very difficult days with fellow Mainers in places like Mosul, Iraq. I want Maine
and our country to generate our own energy so we are not dependent on foreign sources in dangerous places.
Maine has the fourth highest percentage of veterans of any state in the country. Leading on clean energy is
one way to keep our young people from being deployed somewhere again – and I am all in for that.

Third, as a kid born, raised, and now raising my own family in a former mill town (Sanford, Maine) – I am tired
of the fact that Mainer’s are suffering an economy that lags New England and the country when it comes to
job, income, and economic growth. To give one example, I see 15,000 good solar energy jobs for plumbers,
electricians, contractors and others in Massachusetts, but only about 400 similar jobs here in Maine – and it
drives me nuts. When we are leading and building one of the first true smart grids, we will also make sure we
attract a whole new generation of innovators to live, work, and develop the “Google” or Facebook” of clean
energy right here in Maine.

I have no doubt that clean energy leadership is one crucial, generational opportunity for Maine to go from a
lagging to leading state when it comes to creating jobs, raising incomes, and creating smart, progressive
economic growth.

Finally, I believe in science, and the urgency of science – and I will build an administration with people who feel
the same. Maine has an abundance of natural resources and human talent to transform itself into a national
model for clean energy and climate leadership. It is ambitious, but I believe we can produce enough clean
energy to not only meet 100% of our own needs on balance, but enough to become a regional exporter of
clean energy within ten years.

Senator Ed Muskie came from Rumford and he knew what the Androscoggin River smelled like. That is a big
reason he led this country in addressing the challenges of his time and passed the Clean Water Act and the
Clean Air Act – laws we must still defend and build on vigorously today.

Transforming Maine’s economy into a model for clean energy and innovation is the way a new generation of
Mainers can build on the proud tradition of leaders like Senator Muskie and Senator George Mitchell while
protecting the health of Maine people and Maine’s economy. Let’s talk about how next.
-Adam
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WHERE WE ARE TODAY: MAINE’S LAGGING ECONOMY AND SENDING OUR MONEY OUT OF STATE

Any plan for the future starts with an assessment of where things stand today. Let’s look at where Maine’s
economy stands competitively and how we are doing with regard to energy.

Maine’s economy: We are lagging behind

Economic Growth Job Growth

Here are the facts that Maine people know well. Over the last seven-plus years, Maine has lagged New England
and the country when it comes to economic growth (left), jobs growth (right), and income growth.

• While Maine’s Gross Domestic Product only grew by 3% from 2011-2016, New England’s grew twice as
fast (6%) and the country’s grew more than three times as fast (10%).

• Maine took several years longer to regain the jobs lost during the Great Recession. If Maine had kept
pace with New England we would have more than 5,000 additional jobs today – and if we had kept
pace with the country, we would have more than 28,000 additional jobs.

Maine energy: We are sending billions out of state

Maine has abundant sources of clean and renewable energy that could be developed for use by Maine people
and exported to the region, but the LePage administration has instead maintained a last century policy
perspective. Our governor has actively opposed local, dependable, affordable sources of energy we could
control, leaving Mainers as vulnerable as ever to fluctuating sources from other states and countries.

In fact, in 2015 almost 4 billion dollars left the state to pay for things like home heating oil and natural gas to
generate electricity for homes and businesses. This does not include the costs of gasoline and transportation
fuels, which take billions more out of Mainers pockets.

My plan will keep more of this money here to invest in Maine’s economy and jobs. Reinvested here, this
money would have a profound impact on Maine’s economic vitality.

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The odd strategy of paying to subsidize energy and energy jobs in other states and other countries.
One of the often-heard arguments from those opposed to growing Maine-based energy businesses and jobs is
that they are against “subsidizing” energy sources or that they ought to be able to “stand on their own.”

The truth is almost all energy sources benefit from some subsidy, particularly when they are getting off the
ground. In fact, the U.S. petroleum and coal industries continue to receive at minimum about $20 billion a year
in various forms of financial support long after they became hugely profitable. Globally, fossil fuels receive
about $5 trillion in subsidies each year.

CLEAN ENERGY JOBS: THERE ARE TENS OF THOUSANDS AT STAKE AND WE WANT THEM IN MAINE

For people who believe in science and those who do not, here is one fact that should get Maine policymakers’
attention: The clean energy sector is now creating new jobs faster than almost any other sector in the
American economy. There are multiple sources and studies across the board that have confirmed this trend.

We also have solid evidence that thousands of good jobs are at stake right here in Maine. Here are three
examples:

• Offshore wind: Maine is a global leader in research and development of floating offshore wind turbines that
could make Maine “the Saudi Arabia of wind power” at very competitive rates. The U.S. Department of Energy
has vetted and invested in the program and stands ready to invest another $40 million, and a study put out last
Nov. 2 concluded that offshore wind will create 36,000 jobs in the Northeast by 2030.

• Solar: Maine has more solar energy potential than Germany, a global leader in installations – and Maine can
develop solar for less. Just a few miles south, Massachusetts has passed legislation similar to what our
governor has opposed for years – and today it has more than 14,500 plumbers, electricians, contractors,
architects and engineers and 500 businesses installing solar systems. Here in Maine, because of the governor’s
veto and arm twisting, we have only around 400 jobs.

• Onshore wind: Maine is the top producer of onshore wind energy in New England. The industry supports
more than 1,560 jobs per year, mostly in rural Maine, according to a 2014 report and contributes significantly
to the local property tax base.

Maine’s clean and renewable energy industry can bring innovation and jobs throughout Maine. Rather than
fighting these Maine entrepreneurs and innovators, I would welcome the opportunity to partner and
champion their success. We need to brand Maine as a leader in clean energy and welcome investment in
clean energy businesses.

CLEAN ENERGY LEADERSHIP PRIORITIES: WHAT I WOULD DO AS GOVERNOR

As your governor I plan to support a money-saving clean energy agenda to move Maine’s economy with cost-
effective renewables, efficiency, innovation/research & development, new technologies and effective new
statewide policies. Maine can be a leader once again, on innovative energy initiatives both public and private.
We can move Maine rapidly towards both a stronger economy and a cleaner environment, while decreasing
the money flowing out of Maine’s economy to purchase fossil fuels. I will present a ten-year plan
demonstrating how these goals can be accomplished.

Maine’s energy future must focus on reducing Mainers’ energy costs, on giving Mainers greater control over
their energy choices, and on ensuring reliable energy sources. The challenge we face is how to pursue clean
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energy technologies, programs, and policies to the best advantage for Maine’s economy and jobs. Innovation
and invention must become our hallmarks.

REDUCING MAINER’S ENERGY BILLS THROUGH ENERGY EFFICIENCY

Energy efficiency is the lowest cost energy resource for Maine residents and businesses. Efficiency Maine Trust
has effective programs supporting an energy efficient state economy. Efficiency is a proven job creator in every
state in the country. In Maine, we created nearly 9,000 such energy efficiency jobs by the end of 2016 and
most involve local work that cannot be exported outside of Maine. With smart, private energy efficiency
investments partnering with Efficiency Maine Trust, Maine companies will reduce their cost of doing business.

As your governor I will emphasize efficiency programs that produce bill savings and economic development –
local jobs - for Mainers.

WORKING WITH OTHER NEW ENGLAND STATES TO FUND ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND REDUCE POLLUTION

Under my administration, Maine will continue to work with other New England states to reduce pollution that
is changing our climate in ways that also generate tens of millions of dollars we can invest in energy efficiency.
That is smart policy and it should continue.

GROWING MAINE’S OWN CLEAN ENERGY GENERATION CAPACITY

Maine has been a natural clean energy leader from the 19th century through the 21st. We have the most clean
electricity resources in New England and the greatest potential for more. In the 19th and 20th century, Maine’s
hydropower power potential was engaged to support strong economic growth. Maine is to this day the largest
New England hydropower state. While we are removing some dams to allow valuable river habitat to support
commercial and recreational fishing, including restoration of important parts of the Kennebec and Penobscot
Rivers, we are also repowering and upgrading other dams. We are fortunate to have private companies
researching new technology to capture the power of ocean and river currents.

Maine has the highest onshore wind potential in New England. And we have the potential for large scale solar
projects located along important existing transmission corridors. All energy projects need to be properly sited
to minimize impacts on people and the environment.

We need to capture the benefits of clean power for Maine. Those benefits are reduced electricity prices and
jobs – permanent local jobs to replace lost jobs from other industries. Mainers need good paying job
opportunities, and they can be found in the fast-growing renewable energy sector. Wind power and solar are
now less expensive than any other generation source in many states and parts of the world, but these
industries haven’t been given a fair shake under the current Administration. We have missed an opportunity to
benefit from private investment and federal support for low-cost renewable projects. Maine will not miss
similar opportunities in my Administration.

But again, I emphasize the environmental values need to be respected. We can grow our economy and protect
our natural environmental resources in Maine. There are some sites that are not appropriate. Mainers support
clean energy, but Mainers also live here because they value Maine’s outdoors as hunters, fishermen, hikers,
skiers or walkers.

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INCREASING MAINERS’ ABILITY TO DETERMINE THEIR OWN ENERGY COSTS THROUGH SMART TECHNOLOGY

Utilities outside of Maine have proven, effective programs providing customers with real-time information so
they can reduce usage when energy costs are high. Other jurisdictions are offering innovative time of use
rates in place for their citizens to help homes and businesses to save money by using power at the most
affordable times of the day.

Maine’s utilities are not yet taking full advantage of its existing smart meter system. As they do, Maine citizens
will see many more benefits. Smart rates will reflect the true cost of energy and building transmission lines and
offer Mainers’ the opportunity to save money by shifting usage. If you are not home in the middle of the day
when energy is expensive, you could save money by reducing energy use through timers, advanced technology
or utility supported technology. Conversely, if Mainers knew they could save significant money by doing their
wash after 7:00 pm when there is less demand for power, many would gladly choose to do so.

In some parts of the U.S., energy supply costs can go negative when a lot of inexpensive wind power comes
online in the middle of the night. Austin, Texas used this inexpensive nighttime wind to charge huge air
conditioning units akin to a sophisticated ice cube. These then provides daytime air-conditioning in downtown
Austin. My company, Thermal Energy Storage of Maine took park in a similar project in the Boothbay region.
Innovation in power costs and rates will yield more innovation, and Maine needs more innovative thinking
from its leaders.

BUILDING ONE OF THE FIRST SMART GRIDS, AND ATTRACTING INNOVATORS AND JOBS TO MAKE IT WORK

Maine has smart meters, but we do not have a smart grid. The capabilities promised when the smart meters
were approved and installed have not been realized. Utility ratepayers do not have the option of time of use
rates. Smart meters were supposed to enhance the utilities’ storm management capabilities, but the smart
meter system crashed in the wind storms before Halloween in 2017. Mainers should get what they were
promised in the smart meter programs, and those meters should be used as a backbone to allow all Mainers
access to advanced energy technologies.

Under the current Administration, Maine is simply not seeing the types of energy innovation present in other
states. If we continue our current path, Maine residents and businesses will be left with a 20th century grid that
fails to meet 21st century needs. As we have seen with the lack of reliable high-speed broadband service,
economic development will suffer. Backward looking policies that favor expensive utility investment over
enabling a smaller smart grid are denying Mainers the ability to control their energy future.

Presque Isle, Caribou, Skowhegan, Calais, Lubec, the Midcoast, Oxford and Somerset counties, to name a few
rural communities, should have access to the same smart grid potential and ability to control their energy
future as citizens in the rest of Maine, much less the other 49 states. I would put in place long-term policies
and strong leaders in my Cabinet to make that happen. The right set of policies and cooperation among
Maine’s leaders in business, the Legislature and our research institutions will allow Maine to lead in the energy
field and make energy an economic driver for Maine’s prosperity.

INVESTING IN WORKFORCE TRAINING SO MAINERS CAN BENEFIT FROM NEW CLEAN ENERGY
OPPORTUNITIES

One of the things I have heard everywhere I have been, in all 16 counties, is the need for better, smarter
investment in workforce training to quickly align job opportunities with job skills. The clean energy industry in
Maine has the potential to take off like a rocket and have thousands of jobs across the state. I am working on a
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separate proposal regarding significant innovation in this area, but suffice it to say for now, I will have a
parallel track for to make workforce training for clean energy jobs easily available so that Maine people and
Maine communities can benefit from these new opportunities.

CELEBRATING AND GROWING MAINE’S R&D CAPACITY

Maine is lucky to have some of the best researchers and experts on clean energy and other climate and
environmental issues at our state university system, at our other fine colleges, and housed at impressive
private or public-private institutions and advocacy organizations. I have thoroughly enjoyed hearing about
their work over the past year. The University of Maine’s Advanced Structures & Composites Center is
pioneering world-leading offshore wind technology. The U-Maine’s Climate Change Institute is also doing
remarkable work, as is the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, the Acadia Center, The Nature Conservancy, and
so many others.

One of my goals through the state budget, bonding, partnering, fundraising, attracting investment and working
together on a non-partisan basis is to create world class R&D centers here in Maine – particularly on clean
energy. I have met with Maine leaders who started many years ago towards building Maine’s R&D capacity.
We get a $10 return on every $1 invested in R&D. My hope is for the University of Maine to go from a “Top
100” to a “Top 50” research university and that we can help a lot of the institutions have similar success.

TRULY OPEN FOR BUSINESS – CONSISTENCY AND INNOVATION

This governor put up a sign reading “open for business,” but almost every other message to business leaders,
potential investors, and innovative companies who might want to come to Maine has been counterproductive.
He has created uncertainty by reneging on Statoil’s signed contract to invest over $100 million in offshore
wind. His demeaning and insulting comments on race, gender, and ethnicity have been a huge headache for
our state’s larger companies trying to recruit talent to Maine to grow their businesses.

This will all be reversed when I am governor. We need and want every Mainer and every person who wants to
live and work in Maine to know they are welcome no matter where they are from, how they worship, what
color they are, or who they love.

I will actively champion Maine businesses and recruit new companies to come to Maine. My administration
will be professional and predictable. We will honor our word and transform Maine into a clean energy center
of innovation. I have no doubt that some of the top clean energy related businesses will be born in Maine over
the next ten years.

CLEAN ENERGY AS PART OF AN OVERALL CONSERVATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AGENDA

Clean energy is my area of leadership expertise and it offers Maine tremendous opportunity for growth and
transformation. Cleaning up and leading on clean energy is also part of my overall conservation and
environmental health agenda. We will have two goals: First, to ensure all Maine people, kids, and families have
healthy air to breath, clean water to drink, and an environment free of harmful substances. Second, to ensures
Mainers have continued and increased access to Maine land, water, and natural places for traditional use and
recreational activities.

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH:

I understand the deep connection between our families’ health and the health of Maine’s environment. We all
want clean water, clean air, protection against toxic products, and access to safe, nutritious local food. It’s not
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rocket science: our personal health depends on the health of the natural world, and Maine’s abundant natural
resources should help us live healthy, productive lives.

But the health of Maine families is increasingly challenged by our environment. Air pollution from the rest of
the country heads our way, bringing higher ozone levels that can cause asthma and cancer. Our warming
climate has brought Lyme and other tick-based diseases. Many rural families use well water that may be
contaminated by arsenic, and our municipal drinking and waste water systems are aging. Flame retardants and
other toxins in consumer products affect our children’s growth and well-being. Lead paint stunts our children’s
cognitive growth. Many of these challenges have a disproportionate impact on the most vulnerable among us,
the young, sick, old and poor.

Maine used to be a national leader in environmental health, and the next governor must help the state regain
its leadership role. That includes:

• Improving our air quality by reducing carbon pollution and holding up-wind states accountable under
the Clean Air Act.

• Helping more rural families screen for and control arsenic in wells.

• Improving and protecting our cities’ drinking water.

• Expanding lead screening to cover all Maine schools and all Maine children.

• Moving consumer products from toxic and disposable to clean and durable.

• Working with federal and other partners to address Lyme and other diseases that result from our
changing world.

CONSERVING MAINE’S NATURAL PLACES AND ABUNDANCE:

As a born and bred Mainer who grew up hunting, fishing, hiking, and camping with my Maine Guide
grandfather, protecting Maine’s clean water, clean air, abundant natural beauty and diverse wildlife is a core
value for me.

As someone who cares deeply about growing Maine’s economy and creating jobs, I believe our next governor
must have a vision that sees our natural beauty – and policies that protect that natural beauty – as one of
Maine’s top economic assets. Because that is how I see the world, I would work hard with people from all
parts of Maine and all parties to return Maine to our proud tradition of seeing smart conservation policies, not
as a partisan activity, but as a Maine way of showing respect to the generations of Mainers who will follow us.

My priorities would include:

• Doing a far better job of partnering with Maine’s rural communities and people involved in our
hunting, fishing, hiking, camping, snowmobiling, and tourism businesses to promote Maine as the best
place in the world to come and visit.

• Strong support for clean water, encouraging investment in storm water infrastructure and continued
improvement of Maine rivers and lakes towards meeting Clean Water Act standards. I also support the
Obama EPA position that sustenance fishing rights for Maine’s Native American tribes requires

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improved water quality standards on the Penobscot River and would work with all stakeholders to
move in that direction.

• Restore Maine’s conservation programs such as the overwhelmingly supported and successful Land for
Maine’s Future so that we can continue to protect Maine’s forests, marine and critical habitats from
development while some of them remain sustainably managed working forests, farms and
waterfronts. Specifically, I would seek $10 million in LMF funding each session to leverage existing
Land and Water Conservation Fund and other resources to further conservation in Maine.

• Rebuild and reinvigorate the conservation and environmental agencies to do their jobs of protecting
Maine’s forests and marine environments, wildlife, air, water and land. This includes appointing strong
commissioners, deputies and bureau directors to work with the conservation community to ensure
Maine’s conservation ethic is restored throughout state government working with our citizens.

• Actively partner and lead a conversation among state agencies, research institutions, advocacy
organizations, and Maine fishermen and women to work together on what it takes to have a healthy
Gulf of Maine. This includes everything from culverts for our inland streams and rivers that allow for
healthy sea run fish populations, to how we help our fishing families and coastal communities thrive,
to addressing critical challenges like ocean acidification and warming in the Gulf of Maine because of
our changing climate.

• Incorporate the idea of resilience and innovation throughout Maine state government. We need to
accept the science and relevant empirical evidence – from a warming Gulf of Maine, to shifting lobster
populations, to increased tick populations – that our climate is changing. There are new ways of doing
everything from fishing to building infrastructure that take resilience into account and will save Maine
taxpayers and ratepayers money. One example: Sebago lake provides some of the cleanest drinking
water in the country to over 200,000 Maine people. We can either encourage smart private and public
conservation of some of the forestland in its watershed over the next 10-20 years or,
taxpayers/ratepayers might have to build a $75-$100 million water treatment plant down the road. My
administration would work to become a national leader on this idea of “natural infrastructure.”

FINAL THOUGHT: RECONNECTING TO MAINE’S ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY


AND LAUNCHING OUR NEXT CENTURY OF LEADERSHIP

Clean energy leadership is a clear opportunity to transform Maine’s economy. I have spent 17 years in this
business as an entrepreneur, small business person, attorney, policy advisor, and advocate. I am very proud,
again, that President Obama recognized my work and named me one of 12 “Champions of Change” nationally
for my work “as a veteran working to advance clean energy and climate security.”

Our next governor will oversee celebrate Maine’s bicentennial in 2020. Let’s think big and think positive about
Maine’s next century. Our whole history is moored to the connection between our environment and our
economy. Clean energy leadership is the way Maine can lead in the next 50 years as Senators Muskie, Mitchell,
and others lead for the last 50 years.

Let’s make it happen together, be optimistic about the future. We can create jobs, opportunity, and a healthy
environment for all Mainers.

Photo credits, front cover: Ben McCanna, Mimi Steadman, James McCarthy
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