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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 19 J U N E 2 5 , 2 0 1 8 F O C U S E N E R G Y WESTBROOK WORKS for you! Contact Daniel Stevenson, Economic Development Director at 207-591-8101 or dstevenson@westbrook.me.us "IDEXX had many locations to choose from when it came to our latest expansion. We chose Westbrook because of our outstanding partnership and track record with the City."—Jon Ayers, CEO Groundbreaking ceremony for new expansion A place of Purpose, Innovation and Opportunity IDEXX-WestbrookAd-r3.indd 1 6/13/18 9:45 AM Farmington Augusta Lewiston Pownal The Forks Keswick Beattie TWP Moscow Bangor Portland Wiscasset Orrington Existing substation New DC converter station Proposed substation Rebuild sections New DC link in existing corridor New CMP utility corridor Existing 345kV system New 345 kV line in existing corridor CMP aims to deliver Canadian hydropower to several utilities in Bay State by 2022 B y R e n e e C o r d e s C entral Maine Power Co. aims to deliver renewable hydropower to Massachusetts by 2022 via a $950 million transmission line from the Canadian border to the grid in Lewiston. The Bay State is looking to the New England Clean Energy Connect project to help it meet ambitious clean- energy goals. CMP is a subsidiary of Avangrid Inc. (NYSE: AGR), which is part of Spain's Iberdrola S.A. (Madrid: IBE). CMP won the 20-year contract in a joint bid with Hydro-Québec in March. "From a strategic standpoint, it's absolutely aligned with our goal as a company in creating a cleaner, smarter energy future, and that includes providing transmission solutions to serve regional needs," says Avangrid spokesman John Carroll. He adds that the project's financial importance will be discussed in future public disclosures but has not been included in long-term projections. Although the line will not deliver power to custom- ers in Maine, CMP projects several benefi ts for the state over 20 years, including $40 million in annual wholesale energy cost savings, $564 million added to Maine's GDP and $18 million in extra tax income for host communities. It also projects an average of 1,700 new Maine jobs created annually during the six-year permitting and construction phase. Carroll says the aim is to have all state permits by the end of 2018 or the fi rst quarter of 2019, and fi nal federal approvals by late 2019 so that construction can start soon after. It remains to be seen whether environ- mental concerns by some groups will affect the timetable. Project still faces obstacles The Natural Resources Council of Maine reiterated its objections in response to CMP signing a contract with Massachusetts utilities on June 14, expressing "deep concerns" that the project "will not result in a reduction in carbon emissions and may even contribute to an increase." It also called CMP's pledge to invest $22 million in western Maine conservation and nature- based tourism projects, as agreed with the Western Mountains and Rivers Corp. nonprofi t organization, a "publicity stunt." Avangrid's Carroll counters that some of NRCM's issues "will be addressed in the permitting, and some of them are no t germane to Maine regulations." S O U R C E : New England Clean Energy Connect CMP'S PLANNED HYDROPOWER LINE From a strategic standpoint, it's From a strategic standpoint, it's From a strategic standpoint, it's From a strategic standpoint, it's From a strategic standpoint, it's From a strategic standpoint, it's From a strategic standpoint, it's From a strategic standpoint, it's From a strategic standpoint, it's From a strategic standpoint, it's From a strategic standpoint, it's From a strategic standpoint, it's From a strategic standpoint, it's From a strategic standpoint, it's absolutely aligned with our goal as absolutely aligned with our goal as absolutely aligned with our goal as absolutely aligned with our goal as absolutely aligned with our goal as absolutely aligned with our goal as absolutely aligned with our goal as absolutely aligned with our goal as absolutely aligned with our goal as absolutely aligned with our goal as absolutely aligned with our goal as absolutely aligned with our goal as absolutely aligned with our goal as a company in creating a cleaner, smarter energy future, and that includes providing transmission solutions to serve regional needs — John Carroll Avangrid

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