As the owner of a sawmill in Maine, I was pleased to be awarded a contract by the New England Clean Energy Connect Project to supply timber mats. The timber mats will be laid down and utilized as temporary roads, providing protection to the forest floor during transmission line construction.

The contract has been very beneficial to my crew at the mill. They are consistently working 10-20 hours of overtime each week as we work to fulfill the contract. This is an enormous help to them and their families as they work to make it through the unforeseen global issues that we face today.

The NECEC project will bring clean, renewable and cost-effective energy to the state of Maine. What more can we ask for?

Opponents of the project claim that it is only being built to benefit Massachusetts. They would have you think that the project is a huge extension cord bringing power directly from Canada to Massachusetts. I can tell you with certainty that this is not the case. This project brings hydropower from Canada and connects it to the grid in Lewiston, Maine — not Massachusetts.

We all know that Maine has some of the highest electricity costs in the nation. This project is a chance to fix that, by bringing in cheaper, cleaner renewable energy onto the New England grid, which will lower prices for everyone.

I urge opponents of the NECEC project to please rethink their positions and to consider the importance of what a cheaper and cleaner energy will mean to all of us.

Jonathan Fortin

Winslow