The top Aroostook County lawmakers who have championed a stalled transmission line linking a massive wind farm to the regional grid are backing a study that could further slow the project.
The early stages of connecting the King Pine Wind Project in Aroostook County to the grid hit several snags last year, culminating in the Maine Public Utilities Commission killing the transmission line plans in December, citing cost uncertainties.
The project was also hampered by opposition in the central Maine communities that the line would cross. Their allies in the Legislature are pushing for a pause in the project so the state can study its options before putting it back out to bid. Some of the transmission line’s most ardent supporters are also behind it, although the company seeking to build the wind farm is against it.
“If we really want this to work and serve our future needs, involving as many people as possible will allow for greater transparency and acceptance by a majority of Mainers,” Senate Minority Leader Trey Stewart, R-Presque Isle, who has backed the project, said of the measure.
The bill proposing a new feasibility study would direct the PUC to contract with an independent engineering firm to study what new infrastructure development is necessary to complete the proposed electric transmission line, among other issues.
It is sponsored by Rep. Scott Cyrway, R-Albion, but Stewart and Senate President Troy Jackson, D-Allagash, are also backing it. The two Senate leaders have also suggested exploring additional options to speed the project along, like building underground transmission lines and removing firm requirements on transmission line technology to get the project going quicker.
Last February, the utilities commission selected New York-based LS Power and Long Road Energy’s King Pine Wind Project for the Aroostook Renewable Gateway. The decision to proceed came after Massachusetts agreed to pay for 40 percent of the project.
In June 2023, the legislature approved the LS Power transmission lines without a specified route and Gov. Janet Mills signed it into law. Prior to the votes, lawmakers opposed to the plan and members of communities affected by the line criticized the Legislature for voting without a clear idea of where the line would go.
“The people of Maine have told us that they want our review of these projects and they want us to vote and make a decision,” Sen. Rick Bennett, R-Oxford, said at the time.
In late summer and early fall, LS Power talked with more than 700 landowners in local information sessions regarding the controversial proposed route.
The PUC’s decision to include Massachusetts in the agreement finalized with LS Power introduced new risks and delays that were beyond LS Power’s control, according to a January letter to the PUC from LS Power President Paul Thessen.
Thessen said his company was eager to work with the commission, but a failure to acknowledge those risks by the state would have been fatal for financing. That led to significant differences between LS Power, Longroad Energy, Central Maine Power, Versant Power, PUC staff and Massachusetts in developing a transmission agreement.
The study is opposed by Longroad. Chad Allen, the company’s director of development, told lawmakers this week that it may delay the project for more than two years. That could add uncertainty to the cost and reduce competition in the bid process, he said. But Stewart pitched it as a way to bring people together on a plan.
“The obvious problems of the transmission line are what we’re hoping to avoid in the future,” Stewart said.
