ORONO—The Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions at the University of Maine will host a talk titled “It’s all about the grid: the past, present and future of energy in Maine” on Monday, September 23 at 3 p.m.
Join Maine energy reporter Kate Cough for a discussion on the history of electricity generation in Maine, recent efforts to shake up the system and what a transition to the grid of the future might look like. Cough will provide an overview of the changes that have shaped Maine’s energy landscape since the late 1990s, when the Legislature effectively banned grid owners from owning and operating generation plants, and how those changes have influenced today’s landscape as the state looks to incorporate more renewable energy sources and meet its climate goals.
Cough is editor of The Maine Monitor. She previously served as enterprise editor for outlet while also covering energy and the environment and writing the weekly Climate Monitor newsletter. Before joining the monitor, Cough was a beat reporter for The Ellsworth American, as well as a digital media strategist for it and the Mount Desert Islander. She graduated with honors from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and with Magna Cum Laude from Bryn Mawr College. She is an eighth generation Mainer who lives on Mount Desert Island with her husband, daughter and dogs.
All talks in the Mitchell Center’s Sustainability Talks series are free and are offered both remotely via Zoom and in person at 107 Norman Smith Hall on the UMaine campus in Orono. Registration is required to attend remotely. To register and receive connection information, see the event webpage. To request a reasonable accommodation, contact Ruth Hallsworth, (207)581-3196; hallsworth@