Island utility co. gets $600K loan
Fox Islands Electric Cooperative, which covers the islands of North Haven and Vinalhaven, has received a $600,000 federal loan for electrical improvements and smart grid projects.
The funding was among the $540 million in loans awarded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, according to a press release today. The loans aim to improve electrical service to business and residential customers in rural areas of 18 states. Fox Islands was the only project to receive a loan in Maine in this round of funding.
“These essential USDA Rural Development funds will assist Fox Islands Electric Cooperative with valuable Smart Grid improvements,” Virginia Manuel, USDA’s rural development state director, said in a prepared statement, ”and will improve 9 miles of distribution line for these rural Maine island communities, helping their sustainability in the long run.”
Fox Islands previously received a $950,000 loan from the USDA in 2011 to increase the reliability of electrical service, extend service to new users and keep power affordable. The cooperative is behind a $14.5 million wind project on North Haven and Vinalhaven.
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