Before building a multibillion-dollar transmission line and wind farm in northern Maine, Massachusetts officials must determine whether the project will benefit the people of the state.
Two years ago, a 591-foot wind turbine towered above the tree line at the Weaver Wind project site in Hancock County. The developer of the project, Boston-based Longroad Energy, currently offers about 200 turbines in Aroostook County. Courtesy of Ellsworth American
Clean energy from the north to help New England states reach their climate goals. Reduced electricity rates for consumers in Maine at the expense of the state. High-voltage power lines running through Maine’s woodlands and utility corridors require Legislative approval as “high impact power lines.”
No, this is not a New England Clean Energy Connections project. It’s a hectic plan involving Central Maine Power, now embroiled in legal battles, to transfer power from Quebec to western Maine.
The project is called the Northern Maine Renewable Energy Initiative. As a result of the 2021 state law, this could be the next major development in the Maine energy landscape.
Rice. 179. A wind turbine with blades longer than a football field from the ground to the rotor hub. They will be located between working forests centered on Webertown, an informal community off Highway 11 northwest of Halton.
The proposed King Pine wind farm will be the largest onshore wind farm east of the Mississippi River. With a capacity of 1,000 megawatts and an expected generation of 3.18 billion kWh per year, the $2 billion project will generate enough electricity to power 450,000 typical homes when running at full speed. The wind farm will be built by Boston-based renewable energy developer Longroad Energy.
Power will be transmitted over a new transmission line spanning more than 100 miles from southern Aroostook County to Pittsfield. The line, designed to carry up to 1,200 megawatts of electricity, will be built by New York-based energy infrastructure developer LS Power.
But key details, such as the exact orientation of the corridor, its width, and its potential impact on ecologically and recreationally important lands have yet to be determined. These are also the issues that caused resistance to the NECEC project.
LS Power declined to provide advance information on where the transmission line would run. The company said in a statement that it will work with officials in Maine and Massachusetts, as well as others along the potential route. Some of these details were included in the company’s filings with government regulators but have been removed from the public version.
“We are committed to a consistent and direct public information campaign, including a series of public open days and hearings throughout the project area, starting in spring 2023,” the firm said in a statement, along with design information and other project details. ”
But while the route has not been made public, information and transmission maps from regional network operator ISO-New England suggest a possible route.
In this case, the King Pine wind farm will have a smaller line to connect to a new substation that LS Power will build in southern Aroostook County, near Hinesville. From there, the new high-voltage transmission line will follow an unspecified route to Pittsfield, which LS Power has identified as the southern end of its project.
To connect to the regional grid, the project will construct a new substation in Pittsfield and connect to the nearby main corridor, the 345 kV Orrington Albion Road transmission line. Power will travel along this corridor to Coopers Mills and terminate at a refurbished substation at the former Maine Yankee Nuclear Power Plant in Wiscasset.
The Maine Public Utilities Commission selected the wind farm and transmission line in November. The agency spent months scrutinizing competing proposals to meet legal criteria, including costs to taxpayers, economic benefits to northern Maine, and contributions to the state’s climate goals.
The Commission determined that the combination of the two projects would help lower wholesale electricity prices in Maine and New England and save Maine $1.08 billion over 20 years based on contract payments less estimates of future energy costs.
But there is a problem: the choice of PUC is conditional. The commissioners said they were not yet able to determine whether the cost to Maine’s electricity customers would be “reasonable and in the public interest.”
At present, the actual cost of the energy contract is confidential. Details of these and other key expenses have been removed from public records.
The uncertainty stems from another clean energy law passed in Massachusetts in August. Part of the law calls for the Federal Energy Administration to coordinate with other New England states on cost-effective clean energy projects. The office has until December 31 to decide if the two businesses meet the standards set by law.
This decision is critical to Maine’s program, and all participants look forward to Massachusetts’ decision. The PUC wondered if a partnership with Massachusetts — or perhaps another New England state — could offset the costs for electricity consumers in Maine.
Essentially, Maine wanted to know how much wind power Massachusetts would buy under a 20-year contract and what share of the cost it would bring to Maine’s taxpayers.
PUC commissioners have given agency staff until January 15 to prepare a report on the potential for such regional cooperation.
This is one step in a complex process. Both programs require bi-state approval. If that happens, every project will face typical Maine regulatory scrutiny from state and federal agencies. These include obtaining a Certificate of Public Convenience from the PUC, a land use permit from the Department of Environmental Conservation, and permits from the ISO-New England and Commonwealth agencies.
In addition, there is a new step. In the race for the NECEC project, Maine voters held a referendum last year calling for legislation to approve projects that meet the definition of a high-voltage transmission line. This will be the first requirement check.
These and other hurdles combined are pushing back the projected commissioning date to 2028, LS Power estimates.
But so far, a renewable energy project in northern Maine doesn’t seem to go against the anti-NECEC environmental activists. Although specific details have not been made public, the overall layout does not appear to bisect the same valuable recreational and wildlife habitat as the western project. The land included 53 miles of forest cleared by NECEC in the Kennebec River Valley in western Maine until the project was put on hold last winter.
“Until we see the route and hear from LS Power about their community engagement plan, it’s hard to say,” said Jack Shapiro, climate and clean energy program director for the Maine Natural Resources Council.
Key details will not be known until the project begins the permitting process, Shapiro said. But the NRCM is optimistic, he said, because the climate benefits of 100 percent wind power could replace natural gas generation, especially during Maine’s windiest winter months.
The prospect of this route is exciting as it represents the best chance to complete the missing link. Aroostook County is not directly connected to the New England grid. For decades, economic development organizers have struggled to find people who can bridge the gap. At least two other large wind farm proposals north of the King Pine site – EDP Renewable’s Number Nine project and Clearway Energy’s County Line project – have been put on hold, due in part to lack of grid access.
Senate President Troy Jackson, who lives in Aragash, highlighted this potential last month when he introduced the Northern Maine Energy Plan Act.
“After more than 60 years of discussions about what unlocking Aroostook County transmission and distribution power will mean for the region and the state, we are on the cusp of realizing what sometimes seems like a pipe dream,” he said after the PUC selected the project. .
“Aroostook County has long been recognized as having great potential to provide renewable energy to Maine and New England, but because our grid is down, it cannot do it in a cost-effective way.” legislation) finally removes what is preventing us and Maine from tapping into our vast wind, solar and biomass potential.”
Taul’s comments were included in a letter to the PUC. Referring to the stalled NECEC project, he said northern Maine is looking to embrace large-scale renewable energy projects that “seem almost impossible elsewhere in Maine.”
In fact, the King Pine project will be located south of two other commercial wind farms: Mars Hill, completed in 2006, and Oakfield, completed in 2014. These and nine other wind farms in Maine were built by Longroad members from the same development team involved in the project, including Matt Kearns, the company’s chief development officer.
“We have a lot of experience with wind power projects in Maine,” Kearns said. “And I think we’ve been very pleased with the reception we’ve had in the county in the past. I hope we can go through the same thing again.”
Next month, attention will be focused on pending decisions from the Massachusetts Department of Energy and the Attorney General’s office.
The agencies signed a memorandum of understanding with the Maine PUC last October, setting out the terms under which the Gulf State will consider the Northern Maine power proposal. These provisions are based on the requirements of the recently passed Massachusetts Clean Energy Act. These include: providing taxpayers with cost-effective clean energy, especially during the winter, helping to achieve decarbonization goals, avoiding or minimizing environmental impacts, and having a clear project schedule, including funding and construction.
This last demand is notable in that Massachusetts was already struggling to pay off the large, ill-fated electricity bill. He tried to get electricity from Quebec through the North Pass project in New Hampshire but failed in 2018. The federation then turned to the NECEC project, which is several years behind schedule. More recently, wind project developers off the coast of southern New England have balked at rising costs.
Jeremy McDiarmid, vice president of the Northeast Clean Energy Council, said: “These bumps in the offshore wind road I think make sense for a project like Northern Maine so you don’t put all your eggs in one basket. ry. Somerville, Massachusetts.
He said New England states are turning to electricity systems as high-efficiency electric heat pumps displace fossil fuels, especially natural gas, when energy consumption peaks in winter. Governments will need to work together to reach the goal of low-cost renewable energy, often referred to as profitable electrification.
“I would like Massachusetts to do the same analysis as Maine,” McDiarmid said. “I’m cautiously optimistic that both states will have a positive result.”
success. Please wait while the page reloads. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, refresh the page.
Hi, in order to comment on a story, you must create a commenter profile. This profile is in addition to your subscriptions and site logins. Do you already have a review profile? Log in.
Create a commenting profile with your email address, password, and display name. You will receive an email to complete registration. Please note that the display name will be displayed on the screen when you participate.
Only subscribers are allowed to leave comments. First subscribe or sign in for digital access. That’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. After you submit your account email address, we will send an email with a reset code.
Post time: Dec-21-2022