The Chewonki Foundation organized Wednesday’s seminar as a way to advance the regional debate about climate change and also to improve the state’s understanding of CCS, an emerging technology that shows great promise for slowing the disastrous effects of global warming by permanently storing carbon dioxide deep underground. 

“We are very pleased with the level of discourse at Wednesday’s seminar,” said Chewonki President Don Hudson.  “While we certainly went into the day with an open mind about carbon storage opportunities in Maine, presentations from leading thinkers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton University, and U.S. Department of Energy, all clearly reveal that Maine, and even the northeast, is not a likely home for this type of technology.”  

Hudson had high praise for the day’s speakers, saying that the seminar advanced a deepened understanding of the urgent global need to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions.

Also at issue was the recently proposed $1.5 billion coal gasification plant in Wiscasset, which claims it will make use of CSS technology. Twin River, the company proposing the plant, presented a carbon life cycle study of their project, which has yet to undergo peer review. The company asserts that they can overcome obstacles presented by the day’s leading scientists.  If approved, the plant would instantly become Maine's largest source of carbon dioxide; CO2 pollution is the single greatest cause of climate change.

“After hearing about the transportation and grave environmental implications of this project – not to mention the fact that we can’t even sequester carbon here in Maine, it seems pretty obvious that this plant is not a good match for Wiscasset,” said Bart Chapin, an Arrowsic resident and also a member of Chewonki’s  Board of Trustees.

The Chewonki staff has urged its board to oppose the proposed plant based on the direct conflict with its environmental mission.  “Our mission is protection of the natural world,” said Hudson, “Our staff is deeply committed to that mission, and because there is no plan in place for this development to capture 90 percent of the 4.7 million metric tons of carbon that it will emit annually, it simply does not put us on the path to addressing climate change.”
Several members of Chewonki’s board of trustees were present for the seminar, and an ad-hoc committee of the board has made a recommendation to oppose the Twin River project based on the speakers’ findings. A full board vote is expected within days. Additional attendees included officials from federal and state government, representatives from Maine’s environmental community, as well as elected officials and residents of the Town of Wiscasset, who will vote on the matter at the November 6 election.