Nearly 100 opponents of a power line that would connect southern Aroostook County to central Maine rallied in Augusta Saturday afternoon.
The 1,200-megawatt power line would run from Glenwood Plantation to Coopers Mills, sending electricity south from a 1,000-megawatt wind farm that's proposed for Aroostook County.
The Public Utilities Commission accepted LS Power's bid to build the project last year, and it won legislative approval in June.
But critics say the 150-foot-tall powerline would cross many farms, woodlots, wetlands, and other environmentally sensitive areas. They'd rather see it follow existing powerline corridors, or highways.
Speaking at the rally, Albion resident Lance Stewart said he'd rather see it buried underground.
"The same energy that can be transferred in that overhead, high voltage AC setup can be transmitted through high-voltage direct current, DC, transmission lines that can be buried in a trench 5 feet by 5 feet," Stewart said.
Senator David LaFountain, a Democrat from Winslow, said legislators have also been meeting with LS Power to discuss concerns about the project. He supports a comprehensive statewide plan for transmission lines. And he also encouraged people concerned about the power line to contact the Public Utilities Commission.
"I think we need to focus as a group, to approach and say, 'PUC, we have a study being done, can we postpone it?'" LaFountain said. "I'm sure LS Power won't like it. But I don't work for LS Power, I work for my constituents."
Meanwhile, an industry-funded study released last week claimed that the project would generate $150 million in state and local taxes over 25 years and save electricity ratepayers more than $3 billion. Doug Mulvey, of LS Power, said he plans to have a modified route map available later this year. But he said it's not as simple as burying the line.
"The big drawback to placing the facilities underground is, frankly, cost," Mulvey said. "The project could cost five to 10 times more if the facilities are placed underground."
Mulvey said the company will hold another series of open houses before submitting the proposed route to the PUC for approval.
Legislators have submitted a dozen bills regarding the power line to the legislative council, which will consider them Oct. 26.
