December 4, 2023
The proposed Aroostook Renewable Gateway would connect power from a wind farm to the New England grid, but the project has faced many obstacles as its seeks regulatory approval.
BY STEPHEN SINGER STAFF WRITER
EXCERPTS
Versant Power customers in northern Maine will not benefit from a transmission line connecting wind power generated there to the New England grid, yet will still be required to pay for it, the utility told state regulators in the only public comments on the closed-door negotiations for the project.
In a filing Friday with the Maine Public Utilities Commission, Versant said it is not “fair or reasonable” to require the utility’s more than 35,000 Maine Public District customers in Aroostook County to pay the costs associated with the Aroostook Renewable Gateway project and Longroad wind farm northwest of Houlton. The 140- to 160-mile transmission line proposed by New York-based LS Power would not interconnect Versant’s Maine Public District with the New England grid, the utility said.
Pending final PUC approval, the project would be paid for in part by Maine ratepayers over many years. But Versant said its customers in the Maine Public District, more than 20% of the utility’s 165,000 customers, would not receive direct benefits, such as delivered power, reduced prices and renewable power from the two projects. Versant’s service area also includes the Bangor Hydro District in eastern Maine, which would benefit from the power line.
Central Maine Power, the state’s largest utility, also filed comments Friday, a spokesperson said. A PUC spokesperson said all filings that were due Friday have been received, but with the exception of the cover letter posted publicly at Versant’s request, comments are confidential. The PUC would not comment on a pending case, she said..................
...............Versant’s comments offer the only public view of the closed-door negotiations, but they still only allude to problems in negotiations without providing details.
For example, the utility said – without elaborating – that LS Power’s draft transmission agreement being considered by the PUC includes “contract terms and requirements that are out of alignment with reasonable market practice” and precedent established by Maine regulators and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission...........................
...........................PUC Chairman Philip L. Bartlett II said last week that contract negotiations are continuing and a resolution would be forthcoming “in the very near future.”
The transmission agreement is the first of its kind and must conform to Massachusetts’ commitments, meet Maine’s goals established in a 2021 state law designed to remove obstacles and promote the development of renewable energy resources in northern Maine, and manage risk for ratepayers, Bartlett said.
Versant said it “unequivocally” supports the clean energy policy of the Northern Maine Renewable Energy Development Program and that it’s still possible for the transmission line and Longroad wind farm to meet these goals.
“Versant’s role in this discussion is to ensure that its customers get value for dollars paid in the manner contemplated” by 2021 state legislation and get the same deal as Massachusetts customers and benefits from coordination between the transmission and wind farm projects, it said.
https://www.pressherald.com/2023/12/04/versant-power-raps-wind-tran...
*************************************
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.
Comment
Dan, you should post your excellent comments on the PPH site.
Our overseer of matters involving the lowly ratepayers deems we are not caring enough about our lands, our budgets and our security to know any of the details of this project. LS Power remains protected from the eyes of the public. We will never know what goes on behind closed doors until the onslaught is well under way.
U.S. Sen Angus King
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 - 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
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