LEWISTON  — Maine Senate President Justin Alfond, D-Portland, on Monday denounced Gov. Paul LePage’s efforts to derail a deal between the state of Maine and the Norwegian energy giant Statoil.

New details of the lengths that LePage’s administration went to unhinge a full-scale offshore wind energy pilot project off the coast emerged Monday in a report by the Associated Press.

“What we have seen once again is how far this governor is willing to go to stop you dead in your tracks if he is against you,” Alfond said. “And it doesn’t matter if you are an individual or a company that wants to invest millions of dollars. He basically threw a wrench into the plans and business decisions of Statoil and today’s report makes you ask, ‘What else or what more will his administration be willing to do to upend this investment in Maine?'” 

He said LePage’s insistence that the University of Maine also be allowed to bid on a contract for the pilot project  with Maine’s PUC — during negotiations on an omnibus energy bill passed in July — blew up Statoil’s plans in Maine.

Alfond has been in communications with Statoil officials and said while they have been grossly disappointed in the LePage’s actions, the company does its best to remain apolitical.

Alfond also said while Statoil maybe disappointed LePage’s message to other businesses that may be considering ventures in Maine is one of erratic unpredictability.

“It sends a very unwelcoming message and we lose a lot of credibility,” Alfond said.

On Monday, Alfond also repeated a request to the University of Maine that it make as much of its recent bid on the project as it can public. The university submitted its bid earlier this month. 

Last week, state Sen. John Cleveland, D-Auburn, and state Rep. Barry Hobbins, D-Saco, the co-chairs of the Legislature’s Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee called on the university to make its bid public.

Alfond believes the university, which has partnered with private entities to make the bid, can still put a competitive proposal on the table but also questioned the fairness of the process given Statoil’s previously awarded term sheet with the PUC had already been made public.

He also said he believed the process warranted additional transparency given the circumstances of LePage’s interference. Release of the information would help protect the university’s integrity and credibility, he added.

LePage has been unapologetic for his efforts to ensure the University of Maine had a shot at the project, which will be largely paid for by Maine ratepayer subsidies and federal grants.

LePage has argued that if anyone should benefit from the subsidies, which add to the cost of electric power in Maine, it should be the university system, which serves Maine residents.

LePage has also worked to change state policy that favors wind-energy and other renewables over hydropower.  

At stake, LePage said, is the cost of doing business and maintaining a household in Maine. State policies favoring wind and other renewables have driven Maine electric rates to the top 10 for the U.S., he said during a recent interview.

“I just can’t explain how silly that whole process is,” LePage said. “We do not want to get cheap electricity, we just don’t want to.”

But Statoil, which in 2012 took in close to $130 billion in revenue, according to its annual report, was poised to invest millions into Maine’s economy, while helping the state become a leader in an emerging energy technology, Alfond said.

Statoil already has oil and gas operations in North Dakota, Pennsylvania and Texas in the U.S. and employs hundreds.

Other Maine lawmakers, including Cleveland, said they believed there may be room for both the university and Statoil going forward.

Cleveland said he believes the law passed in July allows the PUC to award more than a single pilot project if it chooses to do so.

Cleveland also said he believes that both entities may still be eligible for federal grants under that scenario.

“I don’t think it has to be winners or losers,” Cleveland said. “I think, if the PUC decides to do so, a term sheet or a contract could be awarded to both proposals. The real objective should be what’s the best outcome for the State of Maine.”

Like Alfond, Cleveland was still urging the university to make its bid public. He and Hobbins have made a formal request for the information under the state’s public records law.

“I think transparency is the appropriate thing here,” Cleveland said.

He said regardless of the PUC’s ultimate decision, the more details that are made public, the easier it will be for people to understand and support its decision.

sthistle@sunjournal.com