Project Would Have Created 100 Jobs, Reduced Emissions By 263,000 Metric Tons of CO2 in Five Years
3/2/2021
YARMOUTH, ME – In a letter to stakeholders today, Summit Natural Gas of Maine announced its decision to withdraw plans for a $90 million expansion of service into Maine’s Midcoast region.
“Summit Natural Gas is committed to the communities we serve, our customers and a cleaner, more sustainable environment. Our proposed expansion into the Midcoast would have reduced greenhouse gas emissions, cut energy bills for businesses and families, and helped to modernize the region’s energy infrastructure,” said Kurt Adams, CEO of Summit Natural Gas of Maine. “While there is strong interest in our service among residential and commercial customers and among many community leaders, it has also become clear that a consensus about the region’s energy future does not currently exist among leaders across all area communities.”
Infrastructure projects, such as Summit’s proposed expansion in Maine, require regional cooperation and a collaborative political environment to be successful.
“Without regional alignment on the best ways to reduce emissions and promote cleaner energy usage, we will no longer pursue plans to bring natural gas to this part of Maine,” said Adams. “We are deeply appreciative of the support we have received from the community, potential customers, and families throughout the region. We will continue to work on bringing evercleaner energy to Maine families and businesses.”
Summit’s proposed expansion would have:
Summit is a forward-looking utility focused on increasing energy choice and reducing emissions in Maine by bringing access to lower emissions fuel sources to unserved areas of the state. Converting one home from an old inefficient heating system to a highly efficient natural gas system can reduce emissions by an estimated 38 percent*. Since coming to Maine, Summit has been able to transition homes, businesses and industry from dirtier fuel sources to natural gas. In addition, they are pursuing opportunities to further reduce emissions by decarbonizing the gas they transport through the utilization of renewable fuels. In 2019, the company launched the state’s first renewable natural gas program for customers, which allows customers to match from ten to 100 percent of their usage with renewable natural gas.
*Based on internal modeling derived from data from the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Energy Information Administration. For data sources, please visit:
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