Citizens' Task Force on Wind Power - Maine
The New England Clean Energy Connect (NECEC) transmission line — also known as the CMP corridor — will be online by the end of the year, in time to supply power to the grid for the winter season, according to a winter energy plan released by ISO New England.
"We're expecting people in New England on some of those colder days to use anywhere between 20 to 21,000 megawatts of power," said ISO NE spokesperson Mary Cate Colapietro. "That's pretty similar to last winter's peak demand day."
The NECEC electricity transmission line will carry 1,200 megawatts of hydropower from Quebec to the New England grid.
The controversial project was first proposed in 2017 and had been rejected by Maine voters at referendum four years ago. But it came back online after Avangrid won a court victory in 2023.
“We have secured every permit, met every regulatory requirement, and overcome significant challenges because we believe we must address the urgent need for reliable energy at a time of rising demand," said Avangrid CEO Jose Antonio Miranda in a statement.
The company has earmarked 50,000 acres in western Maine for permanent conservation easement as part of the project. The plan was approved by the Department of Environmental Protection on Wednesday.
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Dan McKay
Normally, in the competitive market, this reliable, baseload hydro power would wash away feeble power sources such as wind and solar. Massachusetts paid for the construction of NECEC and will pay HQ for every kilowatt hour that is produced. In a sense, it is free electricity pouring into Maine at the Lewiston substation. BUT, Maine's Meddling Government would rather fill Maine powerlines with intermittent solar and watch NECEC power flow south into the rest of New England. So, as supply rates go up for Maine electric customers, the government favored solar industry reels in the increase in rates as their contracts forces Maine ratepayers to pay them the whole supply rate upon immediate increase.
You see, Maine Democrats invented Net Energy Billing where ratepayers pay solar developers, large and small, to send invading electrons directly into the distribution system thus blocking power, like NECEC, that enters via transmission substations from reaching the distribution networks, which is the end-user system that brings the electricity to our homes and businesses.
If the solar invasion into Maine wires isn't halted immediately, we are headed for some dark days ahead. These invasive contracts are for 20 years and get more expensive with each rate hike, both the supply rate and the delivery rate.
yesterday