LePage energy bill veto gets House challenge

Courtesy Cianbro The VolturnUS offshore wind turbine is the focus for Gov. Paul LePage's veto of a wide-ranging energy bill. LePage hoped the bill would include an amendment helping the project compete against another offshore wind pilot project led by the Norwegian energy company, Statoil.

Write a Comment

Gov. Paul LePage vetoed a wide-ranging energy bill Wednesday but was quickly rebuked by a 121-11 House vote that hands the fate of the bill to the Senate, expected to vote next week.

The Portland Press Herald reported the governor's veto came 10 minutes before his midnight deadline. The House overrode that veto around an hour later.

In his veto letter, the governor reiterated a desire for an amendment that would help an offshore wind project from the University of Maine compete with a separate offshore wind project from the Norwegian energy company Statoil.

Both UMaine and Statoil have pilot projects that have received money from the U.S. Department of Energy. The projects will face even stiffer competition in a second round of federal funding to be awarded next year.

The bill outlines new state authorities for expanding natural gas pipelines in the region and establishes a new program through the Efficiency Maine trust to create incentives for homeowners to replace oil heating systems with other energy systems that would lower their costs.