The
Public
Utilities
Commission
(PUC)
voted
2-1
to
have
ratepayers
subsidise
the
project
over
20
years.
It
would
tether
the
structures
to
the
seabed
at
about
140-metres
depth
in
Boothbay
Harbour
in
the
Gulf
of
Maine.
The
decision
was
a
setback
for
Governor
Paul
LePage,
a
Republican
who
opposes
the
$200m
project
as
providing
too
little
economic
benefit
for
the
state
given
the
cost.
To
win
PUC
approval,
Norway's
Statoil
reportedly
cut
the
energy
cost
from
about
30
cents/kWh
to
27
cents/kWh,
and
added
a
“good
faith”
commitment
to
add
local
contractors…
