Maine lawmakers try to find a way to restart the Aroostook wind project

by Billy Kobin
January 8, 2024

EXCERPTS

AUGUSTA, Maine — The latest hiccup for a major Maine energy project came when regulators pumped the brakes last month on a proposed transmission line between a new Aroostook County wind and the New England power grid.

Policymakers still want the project to succeed, and the Maine Public Utilities Commission is set to seek new bids later this year. But they also want to avoid a repeat of the cost debacle that derailed the project and other political problems evidenced by the 2021 vote against the hydropower corridor proposed by Central Maine Power Co. and its allies.

The Maine Legislature, led by two influential Aroostook County lawmakers, could advance proposals aimed at speeding up the project. The stakes are high, with Maine’s aging population concerned about electricity rates and the state aiming to meet statutory goals of reducing emissions 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2030.

Lawmakers have a strong interest in the wind transmission line and want to “smooth the process along,” Sen. Mark Lawrence, D-Eliot, the co-chair of the energy committee. A bill from Senate President Troy Jackson, D-Allagash, would give the utilities commission more flexibility in the types of projects they could consider in the next bidding process.

New York-based LS Power received initial approval from the commission in 2022 and the Legislature in 2023 to build the line from Aroostook County to near Windsor in Kennebec County. It would have connected the New England grid to the King Pine Wind project from Boston-based Longroad Energy that would become the biggest on-shore wind farm east of the Mississippi River and produce enough power for about 450,000 homes.

After facing opposition from several towns along the potential route as well as gummed-up negotiations with the commission, LS Power took a final blow in December when regulators terminated its proposal. Phil Bartlett, the commission’s chair, said LS Power had made clear it could no longer stick with its initial price for the project, calling that unfair to other bidders.

Bartlett and lawmakers have alluded to issues with how much risk LS Power would have to take on for the transmission line, since it could not pass on costs to ratepayers like a utility would. Public Advocate William Harwood, a ratepayer watchdog, said lawmakers should reconsider current state laws requiring separate companies own the wind farm and transmission line......................................................................

..................The utilities commission will reissue a request for proposals on the transmission line and wind farm project. The timeline is not yet clear, but spokesperson Susan Faloon said the process could take several months.

While Longroad’s King Pine Wind web page remains live, LS Power’s transmission line site is no longer active. Longroad remains committed to building the wind farm, said Chad Allen, the company’s development director, but LS Power vice president Doug Mulvey said his group will await the new RFP while “monitoring relevant proceedings” and providing necessary advice..............................................................

........................Bartlett said PUC staff are reviewing statutes to see if any changes are necessary in light of the LS Power snafu. Jeremy Payne, an energy lobbyist who represents renewable companies, emphasized that requirements in the new bidding process “need to be clear for everybody.”..............................

It is a reminder Maine must mesh its plans with New England states developing other renewable energy projects, said Maine State Chamber of Commerce CEO Patrick Woodcock, a former top state energy official here and in Massachusetts. While he sees on-shore wind as “inevitable” in Aroostook County, its success will “rely on an integrated transmission plan” with the region.............................................

Lingering resentment remains among residents over the Legislature approving the project before a final route was in place, particularly in central Maine. Rep. Katrina Smith, R-Palermo, whose district lies near the end of the route last proposed, said her constituents are “still very concerned about the project.”

She worries a new developer may be more aggressive than LS Power and added she supports a bill from Sen. Chip Curry, D-Belfast, to prevent the use of eminent domain to build the line....................................

Please read the full article at  https://www.bangordailynews.com/2024/01/08/politics/maine-lawmakers...

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