Who Owns the Dam
The Brunswick dam is owned and operated by the Brookfield Corporation, a Canadian multinational company that is one of the world’s largest alternative investment management companies. It has over $1 Trillion in assets and operates in over 50 countries. As its 50 year operating license for the dam expires in 2029, relicensing is primarily a negotiation between Brookfield and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Estimates are that revenues from the Brunswick dam are over $10 million annually.
This article from the Maine Monitor does a great job of describing Brookfields history and role in Maine power generation.
The parent company is so massive that it’s the largest commercial property owner in Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York and Washington. It owns thousands of miles of railway worldwide, and has extensive investments in fossil fuels.
“They represent themselves as a green institution. It doesn’t quite jibe with what happens on the ground, and their fight to preserve the status quo,” said Dwayne Shaw, the Downeast Salmon Federation executive director who has battled with Brookfield to improve fish passage on Union River dams. “There’s a big difference between who they are and who they say they are.”
