A sweeping energy bill that would require the state to study energy corridor leases is strongly opposed by energy developers.
Developers of projects worth more than $5 billion said yesterday that if the Legislature passes the bill it would delay the construction of energy corridors and may mean the projects move to other states, according to the Portland Press Herald. The three opposing companies include two Toronto firms — Riverbank Power Co., which intends to build a $2 billion underground generator in Wiscasset, and Transmission Developers Inc., which plans a $1 billion underwater power line from Wiscasset to Boston — and Mass.-based New England Independent Transmission Co., which plans a $2 billion transmission project for wind power in Aroostook County.
The companies took issue with a portion of an amendment to a state energy bill that would require a report and recommendation in December on how the state can get maximum value from leases with corridor developers, the paper reported. The firms say that the amendment creates regulatory uncertainty and the delay threatens limited-time-only funding from the federal stimulus package. David Farmer, Gov. John Baldacci’s deputy chief of staff, says the governor is committed to finding a compromise in the bill’s language to satisfy the developers’ concerns.
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