The Camden Conference, in partnership with the Falmouth Memorial Library, continues the Community Events Series with a presentation by Tux Turkel on Monday, December 12 at 6pm. This event is free and open to all. Contact kderosiers@falmouthmemoriallibrary.org for more information.

Mainers like to think of themselves as an independent bunch. When it comes to energy, though, we’re not as self-reliant as we may think we are, or as we’re striving to be.

Yes, large-scale solar farms are popping up in fields across Maine.  True, nearly a quarter of our instate energy production now comes from wind power.

But 40 percent of the state’s total energy needs are satisfied by petroleum, with 60 percent of that going to fuel motor vehicles. Six out of 10 Maine homes still use oil or kerosene as their primary heating fuel, the highest share in the country.

Where does all this petroleum come from?  A surprising amount is not produced in the United States.

And on the coldest days, some of the natural gas our region needs to keep the lights on comes from the Caribbean. Do you know why a century old federal law is making that electricity even more expensive this winter?

Winter is a good time to dig into the details of Maine’s energy scene, where our power comes from and why efforts to transition to cleaner energy produced closer to home are so complicated.

Tux Turkel is an award-winning journalist who has spent most of his career as a staff writer for the Portland Press Herald and Maine Sunday Telegram. A graduate of Emerson College in Boston, he is Maine’s leading writer on energy and utility issues.