A proposed wind-energy project designed to send massive amounts of electricity from Aroostook County through southern Maine has been put on hold, due in part to the discovery that a technical glitch in transmitting that power could black out portions of southern New England.
The proposal involved hundreds of wind turbines with a total output of 800 megawatts, equivalent to the former Maine Yankee nuclear plant in Wiscasset.
The developer's decision to stop work on that project may threaten plans for a separate $625 million transmission venture that would serve as a conduit to move renewable energy south from northern Maine and Canada. The transmission project would have carried the wind-power energy from Aroostook into the New England regional grid.
The uncertainty comes as the state and the incoming Obama administration are promoting renewable energy as a way to reduce the nation's dependence on oil and cut down on emissions associated with climate change.
Maine set ambitious wind-power development goals last year. And this year, the regional grid operator -- ISO-New England -- is launching a study of how to reliably integrate anticipated, big bursts of wind power into the system.
Some of the information surrounding the wind project and transmission venture is confidential and out of public view. But documents filed with the Maine Public Utilities Commission and interviews by the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram show that questions about the wind project had been growing for months and came to a climax in December.
The documents are filed in a case at the PUC involving Central Maine Power Co. and Maine Public Service Co. The two utilities have joined to develop the Maine Power Connection, which would close a 25-mile gap between Maine Public's service area in Aroostook County and CMP's wires to the south. Currently, Aroostook County isn't connected to the New England grid.
The connection could spark competition in the county between power suppliers. It also would create a new path to send renewable power to New England cities from northern Maine, initially from a project proposed by Aroostook Wind Energy LLC. The company is a subsidiary of Texas-based Horizon Wind Energy LLC, which itself is owned by a major Portuguese utility.
Aroostook Wind has invested millions of dollars and has leased or optioned tens of thousands of acres in northern Maine, according to documents. It has identified 1,200 megawatts of ready wind potential. For starters, it was studying the impact of connecting 800 megawatts to the proposed Maine Power Connection line.
But the study began to turn up unexpected trouble last fall. In public documents, the trouble is described as "stability problems."
Aroostook Wind doesn't spell out in those documents what this term means, and an attorney representing Aroostook Wind couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday. But people familiar with the details said that this problem contributed to the company's decision to suspend its work on the project.
One of them, an intervenor in the case, was willing to summarize the issue in a general way: Under certain circumstances, a sudden interruption of the power flow could cause parts of the regional grid to shut down, according to Gordon Weil, a utility consultant. The problem could be triggered by a technical problem or natural disaster in Maine, he said, adding that computer models showed the problem might occur down the line in Massachusetts.
"Eight hundred megawatts is a lot of power on a single line," said Weil, a former Maine energy director.
Engineers have so far been unable to come up with a solution, Weil said. "This is a much bigger technical problem than anyone thought," he said.
For the past month or so, Weil and other intervenors at the PUC, including water companies and consumer-owned utilities, have been arguing that the problems are so great that the Maine...
Reader comments
Click here to view or add comments on this story
Were you interviewed for this story? If so, please fill out our accuracy form