PUC pulls the plug on Aroostook County clean power project
A transmission line that would have sent wind-generated electricity from Aroostook County to the New England power grid isn't going anywhere, after the Maine Public Utilities Commission on Thursday called off a deal with the project's developer.
The PUC last year selected LS Power to construct a 160-mile line that would transmit power from a companion project, the 1,000-megawatt "King Pine" wind farm to be built by Longroad Energy near Houlton. The net cost of the two projects was estimated at $1.8 billion over a 30-year period.
But in a PUC meeting Thursday, LS Power said it could "no longer hold" to its original pricing for the line's development. That prompted PUC Chairman Philip L. Bartlett II to say the agreement was no longer valid.
"This is a nonstarter," he said. "LS Power has effectively withdrawn its original bid."
It was not immediately clear what if any price LS Power proposed as an alternative. The PUC is expected to cancel the procurement and issue a new request for proposals on the work.
The project dates to a 2021 state law, which called for the PUC to connect more renewable power sources in the state with ISO New England, which operates the power grid across six states including most of Maine. However, Aroostook County is not directly connected to the New England power grid.
LS Power, headquartered in New York, and Longroad, based in Boston, won a competitive bid process for the wind-generation project. Critics said it would do little to bring down high electricity rates in Maine, but the project was generally viewed as a potential economic boon for the County.
Neither LS Power nor Longroad responded immediately to questions from Mainebiz regarding the PUC's decision.
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