PORTLAND, Maine — A wind farm first proposed in southern Aroostook County in 2007 is back on the table.
EDP Renewables North America LLC, based in Houston, is pursuing development of a 250-megawatt wind farm roughly nine miles west of Bridgewater. The company calls it the Number Nine Wind Farm.
At 250 megawatts, the wind farm, if approved, would be the largest in New England when measured by capacity. Currently, the largest wind farm in the region is TransCanada’s Kibby Mountain wind farm in northern Franklin County, which has the capacity to generate 132 megawatts.
EDP Renewables North America’s plans were revealed in late September when Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy announced that the company had signed long-term power purchase agreements with the state’s two major electric utilities — Connecticut Light and Power and United Illuminating.
Developers of wind farms are looking to Maine with increased interest as technology improves and states pass laws requiring more power be supplied from renewable resources.
EDP Renewables is actively looking at other sites in Maine, according to Katie Chapman, the company’s project manager on the Aroostook County project.
“Northern Maine has been called the Holy Grail of wind because there’s a lot of resources up there,” she told the Bangor Daily News in an interview Tuesday. “If you can figure out how to get the transmission, the sky is the limit.”
Chapman and Jeff Bishop, a member of the company’s government relations team, were in Maine this week meeting with stakeholders.
The company plans to open a new office in the Presque Isle area within the next two months, Chapman said, adding that transparency and open dialogue are central to the company’s plans in the state.
“I’m personally willing to meet with anyone willing to talk,” Chapman said.
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