PUC OKs Verso contract, issues RFP
State regulators have given the green light to a long-term electricity supply contract with Verso Paper in Bucksport that will support the mill's switch to a biomass boiler.
The Maine Public Utilities Commission yesterday unanimously approved the initial five-year contract of capacity and renewable energy credits from the company's planned biomass boiler, according to a press release. The contract will provide Verso with a secure source of funding for the conversion from fossil fuels to biomass. Specific terms of the contract were not released, but it has the option to be extended for a second five-year period. The PUC in 2006 was given the authority to enter into long-term generation contracts to lower costs for Maine ratepayers, increase renewable capacity and hedge against volatile market prices, and the commission approved its first long-term contract in October 2009. The Legislature in 2010 amended the statute to allow renewable energy credits to be included in the contracts, according to the release.
In related news, the commission has issued a request for proposals for offshore and tidal renewable energy projects, per a law passed this year that directs the PUC to solicit and select proposals for long-term contracts with one or more of the state's transmission and distribution utilities, Central Maine Power Co., Bangor Hydro Electric Co. and Maine Public Service Co. The deadline for submissions is May 1, 2011.
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