Request for feasability study to connect a 600.6 Megawatt wind project in Aroostook County

Above is the ISO-NE interconnection requests for proposed generation. Number 470/471 is a First Wind project under the name of King Pine Wind, Phase 1 & 2. 

Calendar/Real Audio/ Maine PUC

January 20, 2015

Deliberations

10:00 AM

Date: January 20, 2015 Location: Worster Room Time: 10:00 AM 101 Second Street Hallowell, ME 04347
4 - 2014-00343 REQUEST FOR APPROVAL OF FEASIBILITY STUDY AGREEMENTS (KING PINE - PHASES 1 AND 11) PERTAINING TO EMERA MAINE. Consideration of: Recommended Decision Staff Assigned: Cohen, Chuck; Raber, Leslie; Cook, Christine

The Phase I FS is a three-party agreement among King Pine Wind, ISO- New England, Inc. (ISO-NE), and Emera Maine. The Phase II FS is a three-party agreement among Green Mountain Wind, ISO-NE, and Emera Maine. The Task Orders for both Phase I and Phase II are two-party agreements between ISO-NE and Emera Maine, in which Emera Maine agrees to perform certain work related to the studies for ISO-NE. Both the Phase I FS and Phase II FS address the study of the feasibility of interconnecting a wind generating facility with the electric grid and both wind generating facilities will be located in Aroostook County, Maine. The designated Point of Interconnection to be studied for both phases is the Orrington 345 kV Substation, with two alternative interconnection points to be studied – the Keene Road 345 kV Substation and the Orrington-Albion Road 345 kV line. Both study reports will provide (1) preliminary identification of any circuit breaker or other facility short circuit capability limits exceeded as a result of the interconnection; (2) preliminary identification of any thermal overload of any transmission facility or system voltage limit violations resulting from the interconnection; and (3) preliminary description and estimated cost of facilities to interconnect King Pine I to the New England Transmission System and to address the identified short circuit and power flow issues.

Views: 618

Comment

You need to be a member of Citizens' Task Force on Wind Power - Maine to add comments!

Join Citizens' Task Force on Wind Power - Maine

Comment by Eric A. Tuttle on January 19, 2015 at 3:01pm

The REC trading offsets Carbon production.... We are sacrificing so others can continue to pollute.

Comment by Eric A. Tuttle on January 19, 2015 at 3:00pm

REC trading market analysis.  Read on....... at:

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2013/04/nepool-cl...

Maine

Despite some recent challenges, it seems likely that political support for renewables will continue in ME on a state and federal level. Despite this likely ongoing support, ME prices have continued to decline due to competition for NEPOOL supply flowing into ME.

Market Analysis

ME has been a perpetually oversupplied market, with 2012 REC demand of approximately 600,000 MWh and qualified supply that can generate more than 1 million RECs. Cross-eligibility of resources into NEPOOL states’ RPS programs allows ME resources to supply other compliance markets.

ME remains one of the only states without restrictions on biomass eligibility, thus biomass constitutes the majority of compliance RECs. Most ME generated wind RECs are cross eligible for all states in NEPOOL and likely to flow to the highest liquidity and value market, MA, where prices are north of $64.

2009 compliance of 174,557 RECs included 87% Maine sited renewables, of which 80% of the total was biomass and 19% wind. 2010 compliance of 332,617 RECs included 82% Maine sited facilities, of which 77% is biomass and 22% wind.

With a large availability of cheap biomass in ME, current activity indicates that the marginal costs of biomass are met and exceeded by current prices. Maine is expected to continue to meet the majority of its REC compliance through the use of biomass in 2013.

Comment by Long Islander on January 19, 2015 at 1:42pm

The Kurt Adam articles by the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting are well worth reading for anyone who has not seen them. The links can be found at:

http://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/maine-electricity-rates...

Comment by Martha thacker on January 19, 2015 at 11:23am

"The designated Point of Interconnection to be studied for both phases is the Orrington  3455 kV Substation. " 

A good point which will probably be left out of the deliberations is just exactly what is below Orrington relating to the New England grid. In the U S Govt. vs. FERC hearing re. the building of Stetson Mt. wind farm it was determined that the grid was at capacity and no power could go further south from Orrington. There was a bottleneck there. 

This is the big elephant in the room, as the way things are going...by the time the grid is up and running to transmit spurts and sputters of wind energy, the turbines will no longer be of any use. There lifespan is 20 years or less. 

Although, this has been a pretty well kept secret, MPUC was well aware of it. But has not seen fit to disclose this information to ME rate and tax payers. The way things are going with our legal and justice system, the day might come when we see our former members of MPUC and all serve some jail time. Because truth is coming out of the wood work on a number of issues .

Comment by Eric A. Tuttle on January 19, 2015 at 11:22am

FYI

The Keene Road Substation currently receives from Rollins, and Stetson I and Stetson II. Though Bowers is to join that line. It would also receive from the Oakfield project if one route is chosen. However, if the Alt route for Oakfield is chosen, it would have to join the MEPCO line or have a parallel line constructed back to the Keene Rd. facility. Also, if the Bridle path route is utilized from Oakfield as per recent article, it would need a parallel line or join the MEPCO line from Canada to Augusta area. The MEPCO line does not currently connect to the Orrington facility. The Keene Rd. facility does connect to Orrington. 

Map

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=docs://0B4KW-VmaJQhZZkZLTmxWMTlocGc&...

A zoom in will be needed. Blue is MEPCO, the green line is the Keene Rd. to Orrington.

A close Zoom will show these bypass or connections in various locations. Each route has been identified pole by pole as I mapped. 

 

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/

Not yet a member?

Sign up today and lend your voice and presence to the steadily rising tide that will soon sweep the scourge of useless and wretched turbines from our beloved Maine countryside. For many of us, our little pieces of paradise have been hard won. Did the carpetbaggers think they could simply steal them from us?

We have the facts on our side. We have the truth on our side. All we need now is YOU.

“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”

 -- Mahatma Gandhi

"It's not whether you get knocked down: it's whether you get up."
Vince Lombardi 

Task Force membership is free. Please sign up today!

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/

© 2024   Created by Webmaster.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service