By Alanna Durkin, The Associated Press
AUGUSTA, Maine - Republican Gov. Paul LePage's proposal aimed at making it easier to bring small nuclear power plants to Maine is meeting fierce resistance because it would strip voters of their power to sign off on new plants.
Currently, Maine voters must approve the construction of any nuclear power plant. But LePage wants to remove that requirement for plants that generate 500 or fewer megawatts.
Patrick Woodcock, director of the Governor's Energy Office, told the Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee on Wednesday that Maine must embrace new nuclear technologies, which can provide "safe and clean'' alternatives to fossil fuels.
But many anti-nuclear activists said that removing voters' right to decide whether Maine should build more potentially dangerous plants is wrong.
The state's only nuclear power plant, Maine Yankee, closed in 1997.