BDN - Maine PUC mysteriously reopening closed investigation into entities owning transmission AND generation
The project is part of a $12 million plan in Maine and Canada to explore the potential of ultralocal, renewable energy supplies. Just why the regulators are revisiting what had been a closed case is, for the moment, a mystery............Maine’s investor-owned transmission utilities aren’t generally allowed to own electricity generation assets. But the law exempts projects that would allow utilities to own generation needed to run their operations efficiently. Emera argued to the Public Utilities Commission that the Hampden microgrid’s “self-supply” system would do just that...........
The state’s public advocate initially supported the project, as did the Conservation Law Foundation. But another utility, the Houlton Water Co., argued that it might give Emera Maine and its Canadian affiliates an unfair advantage in the rapidly changing energy marketplace.
The Public Utility Commission’s staff said Emera didn’t provide enough information to support the legality of the plan. Barry Hobbins, Maine’s public advocate, says after seeing some of the filings, his agency dropped its support.
“I don’t think it was an intentional intent, but it didn’t meet the requisite requirement of the statute that separates the transmission from the generation,” he says.............................
http://bangordailynews.com/2017/11/29/business/utility-regulators-r...
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Comment
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Comment by Eric A. Tuttle on November 30, 2017 at 2:36pm
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BDN - Maine PUC mysteriously reopening closed investigation into entities owning transmission AND generation
They tried to unite Transmission and Generation again, I believe last session or the previous. Something that Maine separated with good cause after listening to testimony (however not always truthful) about their supposed need. Individual generators not contracted to either CMP or now Emera Maine, could potentially be denied competitive transmission rates if CMP and Emera had excess generation capacity to sell if they owned both. Towns or smaller facilities Rooked into developing Solar Farms or Micro Grid generation via Net Metering contributions could be forced to sell any available power they produce at a lower rate just to get it onto the transmission lines priced at a higher transmission rate as a competitor. (basic understanding at the time)
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Comment by Frank Haggerty on November 30, 2017 at 9:34am
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The Tesla battery and a backup generator has it worked anywhere in the world for an amount of time planned for the project? Is safety and health on the back burner ?
A Hawaii battery warehouse caught on fire at the First Wind wind farm for the second time in two years in 2012 -The battery fire was an environmental nightmare.
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Comment by Dan McKay on November 30, 2017 at 9:21am
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As I understand the proposal, it would include a solar array with battery storage with interconnection to the ISO-NE grid. This sounds like a market play to reap benefits from gathering storage at low cost wholesale prices and selling at peak wholesale price. There is also out of market revenue obtained with solar to consider (REC money, federal tax favors) which allows such entities to bid negative prices into the wholesale market. This is not a road the PUC should want to go down, way too much market influence and a foot in the door opportunity for Emera
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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