$950 Million Power grid project
$950
Million
Power grid project could tunnel under Kennebec River Gorge
Massachusetts officials say they are ready to negotiate final terms for the construction of a $950 million transmission line to carry electricity from Canada’s Hydro-Quebec dam system through Maine down to the Bay State. Central Maine Power says it can complete the project by 2022, but it is facing some opposition.
The line would run 145 miles through western Maine, from Lewiston to the Canadian border at Beattie Township, including a jog through the Forks and across the scenic Kennebec River Gorge. Some environmentalists say they will watch closely to ensure minimal impact on scenic resources. But for now, the Natural Resources Council of Maine is opposed.
“We’re very troubled with the lack of any evidence from Hydro Quebec or Central Maine Power about where this power is going to come from and what the total impact on our climate is going to be,” says Dylan Voorhees, the energy programs director for the Natural Resources Council.
A Hydro-Quebec spokesperson insists the electricity will be supplied from previously untapped hydro resources. And CMP’s John Carroll adds that the company is willing to take action to mitigate effects on scenic resources and local communities. That could include digging a tunnel under the Kennebec River Gorge, if that’s what local stakeholders want, or CMP would invest in trails and other recreational resources.
“That’s in our budget, and the question the community up there is answering is, is it worth more to them to have long-term funding available or to have us spend the money to bore under the gorge,” says Carroll.
As it seeks state permits, CMP will also face opposition from some electricity generators. The Calpine Corporation and others say Hydro-Quebec receives government subsidies that will enable it to undercut electricity prices in the U.S. and unfairly undermine their viability in Maine. CMP says the competition will benefit New England ratepayers to the tune of billions of dollars over 20 years. It will be up to the utility regulators in Maine and Massachusetts to decide who is right.
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Comment
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Comment by Dan McKay on March 29, 2018 at 7:51pm
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So, I guess government subsidized wind at 900+ megawatts which enables them to undercut electricity prices and unfairly undermine other generation is fine with Calpine and others.
A resource that is subsidized freely by another country's tax payments not only gives the Maine ratepayers a break with it's ability to undercut prices, but saves us the U.S. tax payments for subsidization. Win, Win.Now, let's hope HQ will undercut wind prices and shut them out of the market. Win, Win, Win.Also, NRCM might want to think about replacing their meathead, energy program director..
Maine as Third World Country:
CMP Transmission Rate Skyrockets 19.6% Due to Wind Power
Click here to read how the Maine ratepayer has been sold down the river by the Angus King cabal.
Maine Center For Public Interest Reporting – Three Part Series: A CRITICAL LOOK AT MAINE’S WIND ACT
******** IF LINKS BELOW DON'T WORK, GOOGLE THEM*********
(excerpts) From Part 1 – On Maine’s Wind Law “Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine if the law’s goals were met." . – Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, August 2010 https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/From Part 2 – On Wind and Oil Yet using wind energy doesn’t lower dependence on imported foreign oil. That’s because the majority of imported oil in Maine is used for heating and transportation. And switching our dependence from foreign oil to Maine-produced electricity isn’t likely to happen very soon, says Bartlett. “Right now, people can’t switch to electric cars and heating – if they did, we’d be in trouble.” So was one of the fundamental premises of the task force false, or at least misleading?" https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-swept-task-force-set-the-rules/From Part 3 – On Wind-Required New Transmission Lines Finally, the building of enormous, high-voltage transmission lines that the regional electricity system operator says are required to move substantial amounts of wind power to markets south of Maine was never even discussed by the task force – an omission that Mills said will come to haunt the state.“If you try to put 2,500 or 3,000 megawatts in northern or eastern Maine – oh, my god, try to build the transmission!” said Mills. “It’s not just the towers, it’s the lines – that’s when I begin to think that the goal is a little farfetched.” https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/flaws-in-bill-like-skating-with-dull-skates/
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Hannah Pingree on the Maine expedited wind law
Hannah Pingree - Director of Maine's Office of Innovation and the Future
"Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine."
https://pinetreewatch.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/
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