Mainebiz

W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 9 F E B R UA R Y 8 , 2 0 1 6 Matthew and Gary Moretti Wild Ocean Aquaculture, LLC We're in business to help your business. Member FDIC Member FDIC We work hard to do things right. We're as passionate about our business as we are about our customers. Ask us about our business solutions that can help your business grow. www.bangor.com | 1.877.Bangor1 CMP, Emera Maine propose new transmission line for northern Maine Central Maine Power and Emera Maine announced Jan. 29 a joint proposal to deliver enough clean energy to power 250,000 homes in southern New England by using wind energy generated in northern Maine. The proposed Maine Renew- able Energy Interconnect proj- ect would provide up to 1,200 megawatts of renewable energy from wind energy projects in northern Maine that are already in the planning and develop- ment phase. It includes investments in the region's bulk power sys- tem to add approximately 150 miles of new line, new substa- tions and other improvements, extending from Hammond in Aroostook County to Pittsfi eld, where it would connect to the existing power grid. The improvements would be paid for by utility customers in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The utilities did not provide a cost estimate for their proposal, but CMP President and CEO Sara Burns said the utilities were confi dent their proposal offered "a competitive price because we are tapping our existing infrastructure." Emera Maine President Alan Richardson said the MREI proposal calls for using existing rights-of-way for much of the transmission corridor, which would minimize the environmental impact. "The MREI is a high-value, low-cost solution for the southern New England states' need for clean energy with the advantages only companies with our resources can offer," he said. The MREI project will save customers $70 million while creating jobs and state tax revenue, the utilities said. The Maine utilities' competition in the Clean Energy RFP process includes the Vermont Green Line project submitted by Anbaric and National Grid, which joined forces in 2014 to develop transmission lines to bring renewable energy into New England. Their proposal would create a 60-mile, 400-megawatt electric transmission cable system to link Beekmantown, N.Y., with New Haven, Vt. Their proposal includes working with Hydro-Québec, North America's largest generator of hydropower, to supplement wind power, according to a joint release issued with Invenergy, North America's largest independent wind power generation company. The proposal states that it would deliver electricity to 400,000 homes and save customers $500 million. The Clean Energy RFP's timeline calls for selection of bidders to take place between April 26 and July 26, with contracts to be submitted for regulatory approval between July 26 and Oct. 25. Separately, the utility also submitted a proposal to build a 66-mile transmission line to connect the company's existing grid in Pittsfi eld to wind energy projects in place or under development in western Maine, Gail Rice, a CMP spokeswoman, told Mainebiz. That plan calls for transmitting up to 550 megawatts of clean energy to the southern New England states. Rice said that much like CMP's $1.4 billion Maine Power Reliability Program, which was completed on time and under budget, both projects would support thousands of jobs in Maine. "There would be a lot of direct and indirect benefi ts," she said. "They would involve a lot of economic activity, involving numerous contractors." Rice said construction isn't likely to begin until 2018, assuming the utility is successful in landing a contract for one or both of its proposals. — J a m e s M c C a r t h y Existing substation MREI substation Existing 345kV system MREI transmission Maine Renewable Energy Interconnect project's proposed transmission corridor S O U R C E : Emera Maine and Central Maine Power

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