PPH - A first in northernmost Maine: Utility ran on 100% solar power for a few hours in early May

May 10, 2024

Stephen Singer
Press Herald

EXCERPTS

Solar energy provided all the electricity needed to power a service area of more than 11,000 customers in northern Maine for a few hours in early May, marking a first in the large, sparsely populated region that relies on a Canadian grid for its electricity.
Unlike other regions in the state that are linked to the New England electricity grid, the Fort Kent area in northernmost Maine is connected to New Brunswick Power Corp...........................
..................Northern Maine is unique, the outlook said, because most of its generation is from renewable resources. Solar accounts for a little less than 10% of the region’s 109-megawatt capacity, with the bulk coming from wind and hydropower, according to the independent system administrator......................

Versant said it expects similar energy conditions in the Fort Kent area on sunny days in the spring and fall when conditions are best for solar energy production and mild temperatures drive down electricity demand.
The ability to rely on the sun’s rays for power – even for a few hours – is partly the result of a decentralization of power generation that allows smaller producers to feed electricity into the grid.
“Reimagining the purpose of our grid, built originally for the one-way delivery of power, is no easy task in a rural state with diverse needs,” Versant President John Flynn said.
In contrast with the electric grid’s original, one-way economic model – sending power from the utility to its customers – decentralized forms of energy production, known as “distributed generation,” are increasingly producing power that is sent to a utility, which in turn supplies its customers with electricity.

“I think it’s a great day for the state of Maine to generate its own electricity and not have to go out of state,” said Bob Cleaves, co-founder and principal investor of Dirigo Solar, which feeds power to Versant.
The Portland-based solar developer has three projects in development at Limestone, Masardis and Sherman, Cleaves said. Begun in 2015, Dirigo has invested $150 million in Maine and operates seven solar projects, he said, generating more than 100 MW of solar that’s cheaper for Versant customers than the state’s standard offer, which is the default supply........................

Dirigo sells its power to Versant for 3.5 cents a kilowatt hour, and customers pay 7 cents – significantly less than the 11.3-cent per kWh standard offer.
Cleaves credited a 2019 Maine law for the expansion of solar power in the state by broadening incentives in a policy known as net energy billing. The incentives have attracted strong interest from solar developers while drawing criticism for being too generous at the expense of electricity ratepayers who subsidize the program.
“As a result, there was, until 2019, very little home-grown load,” Cleaves said, referring to electricity consumption............................

https://www.pressherald.com/2024/05/20/a-first-in-northernmost-main...

************************************* 

Fair Use Notice: This website may reproduce or have links to copyrighted material the use of which has not been expressly authorized by the copyright owner. We make such material available, without profit, as part of our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, economic, scientific, and related issues. It is our understanding that this constitutes a "fair use" of any such copyrighted material as provided by law. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes that go beyond "fair use," you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.