ROCKLAND, Maine — A major step in extending a natural gas pipeline to the Rockland area was reached Wednesday when the state signaled its intent to have a Scarborough company provide the fuel to the state prison facilities in Warren.
The state signed a letter of agreement with Self-Gen for that firm to provide natural gas. As part of the agreement, the company has agreed to extend the natural gas pipeline from Windsor to Rockland and Warren.
“This is good news, really good news for big industries in the Rockland area,” Rockland Mayor Brian Harden said.
David Emery, the deputy commissioner of the Maine Department of Administrative and Financial Services, said the details of the agreement are being negotiated but he expects an agreement to be reached in the next few weeks. The benefit to the state will be significant energy savings, he said.
And the potential for major energy savings for local businesses is what prompted a Dec. 19 meeting at Rockland City Hall when state officials and Self-Gen unveiled the company’s intent to provide natural gas to the Rockland area. At that time, however, Self-Gen had no customers for which to make the extension of the pipeline financially feasible.
The Maine Bureau of General Services issued a request for proposal in January for someone to provide natural gas to state facilities in the Rockland/Warren area, state facilities in Augusta, or both the Rockland and Augusta area, noted Alan Henry, the acting director of the general services bureau. He said there is no agreement yet on the Augusta area but the state signed the letter of agreement Wednesday for the state facilities in the Rockland/Warren area.
The state prison in Warren uses 400,000 gallons of heating oil each year at a cost of about $1.3 million. Another $850,000 is spent on electricity, Henry said.
The agreement calls for Self-Gen to initially truck natural gas to the prison but once the pipeline is completed, it would be received in that method. Self-Gen would also construct a small energy plant in which natural gas would generate electricity for the prison.
Emery said the savings would be significant, noting that natural gas costs are about one third of oil to provide the same amount of energy.
Once the pipeline is completed, private businesses can connect to the service if they want, he said. Emery said, however, the state will have no role in that since that would be discussions between private businesses.
At the Dec. 19 meeting in Rockland, Paul Aubrey, president of Self-Gen, said plans for the extension of natural gas could also mean the construction of a 25-megawatt natural gas generation plant that would be built near the Dragon Products cement plant in Thomaston that could then provide electricity for industries in Rockland and Thomaston.
Small generation plants could also be built at sites where there are large users such as Pen Bay Medical Center in Rockport; Walmart, which plans to build in Thomaston; schools; city and county buildings; Fisher Engineering; Hannaford; Lyman Morse; and downtown, according to the proposal unveiled in December.
Pen Bay Medical Center, however, has submitted an application to the town of Rockport to build a boiler that would burn wood chips. The Rockport Planning Board will hear that plan at its Wednesday, April 11 meeting.
In 2008, the superintendent of the Rockland wastewater plant, Terry Pinto, had encouraged the extension of a natural gas pipeline to Rockland to lower energy costs for the city. He attended the December meeting and voiced support for the plan.
Emery said his best guess on when the pipeline would be completed would be about two years. The state prison facilities, however, would expect to be using natural gas trucked to the Warren site in six to eight months.
Henry said the length of the agreement with Self-Gen will be negotiated.
In December, Aubrey said the most likely path for the pipeline would along Central Maine Power rights of ways or along Route 17.
The estimated investment by Self-Gen would be $150 million.
At the Dec. 19 meeting, Ken Fletcher, the director of the Maine office of energy independence and security, said there was no one silver bullet to solve the high costs of energy in Maine but that the natural gas proposal was one part. He said that lowering energy costs will make Maine businesses more competitive in the global market.
I wish someone could invent a way for us that will never be served with pipeline natural gas to be able to use it in tank form like we do now for the VERY expensive propane.
I converted to Natural Gas from Oil & Propane in the fall. My heating costs are now 1/3 of what they used to average (keeping in mind that I spent a small fortune upgrading to a high efficiency furnace).
And what land(s)/homes, will be taken for this purpose? What’s the mapping of this pipeline?
like they said int he article… it’ll run from Windsor, to rockland, and warren following Rt17… or along the CMP HT lines.. 150million investment.. that’s likely to bring a few jobs to the state.. I bet they’ll find a way to screw it up… but here’s me with my fingers crossed… I’d love some cheap heat….
If you want some cheap heat, I’ve heard that there is a mural down that way somewhere that could be used for that purpose.
A lot less space than the R.O.W. and clear cuts for transmission lines and access roads for Wind Farms. No contest, gas lines win out again.
If it’s good for Maine, Lepage will screw it up somehow.
Viva Governor LePage!
With every step in the right direction, with every old boy’s network vermin routed out, he is truly setting in motion a Maine turnaround. Keep up the good work Governor – your actions will wind many of your doubters over. Please stay the course.
Yes, Mr. LePage is the man!!!!!!
Natural gas is used everywhere except the northeast part of the country. It is cleaner and more efficient then oil and way cheaper. Heating oil companies have a stronghold on the market and won’t easily give it up. Another major problem is getting it here. The northeast is very old and the current infrastructure would be very difficult and expensive to retrofit with natural gas lines. Natural gas cannot be transported by truck, so we treat it and process it into a liquid and transport it as propane. Propane is very good also but it costs more because it has to be refined and transported.
es but this is only for buisnesses, and those with the financial menas to hook into the natural gas line.. they may truck it to your house tank.. but I’d love to have a natural gas line straight into my house and only pay what was metered out…
The yellow flags run across the front lawn now….very excited about converting… my neighbor halved his heating bill, and got rid of the electric range and clothes dryer. NO MORE FUEL OIL STINK IN THE BASEMENT! Another neighbor doing the same while putting in the foundation for a new garage, lap pool, just uncovered a 1,000 gal. fuel oil tank and has to coordinate removal with DEP.
We would love to have natural gas pipe lines in Hampden, Newburgh, and running south. Hope someone is making notes.
Ken Fletcher, the director of the Maine office of energy independence and security, and Governor LePage are making great progress in their effort to reduce energy costs for all of Maine.
If only there was some cooperation from the Energy and Utilities Committee in the legislature, all of Maine could see the benefits of their efforts. Wind power lobbyists Rep Stacey Fitts and Rep Jon Hinck must go.
Who is paying for the pipe line? This build out is happening all over the
country. As the demand for natural gas increases the price will rise and not be a good deal. Hook line and sinker we are getting *****.
How about looking to the future. Solar and wind generated electricity is
better for Maine. We have the natural resources to be energy
independent. If energy is produced here by individuals or by communities
our economy benefits. The money stays here.
The cost of producing electricity from solar has dropped 60% over the
last six years. It is expected to drop another 10% this year. Why do I
think natural gas is not such a good idea? Oh and what about climate
change?
Throughout Europe and now in Ontario and Vancouver, municipalities are converting organic solid waste/sewerage sludge to natural gas and feeding it into the growing gas pipeline network.
Towns now spend $$$ to dispose of sludge and ‘green’ waste; this further reduces the cost of running government since it is this material which is the feedstock for bio-gas refineries.
Because these are often run by public works depts., they are converting their fleets to run on natural gas and there are many ‘garbage trucks’ that are powered by what they pick up; moving us toward a ZERO WASTE ECONOMY.
Solar & Wind not so much in Maine. They need substantial subsidies, and produce only sporadic and marginal power gains. Take away the subsidy and wind disappears; take away the sun and solar PV is marginalized.
Electric vehicles? Not in my lifetime.
Compressed Natural gas vehicles run by gas that comes into your house?
ABSOLUTELY….your Honda dealer will sell you a CNG car and a small compressor you can put in your garage to fill it up.
Not true regarding solar. Price drops are bringing it line with other sources. We have excellent wind and sun resources in Maine. The advantage with home grown electricity is our money stays in the local economy.
Have you heard of the Volt or the Leaf? Ford is producing an electric car also. Make your own electricity. Plug your car in at home. Wind producing electricity at off peak (Nights) is stored in car batteries.
With you all the way with waste to energy. Its a good part of the solution along with efficiency.
From an environmental side, what do we do with all the batteries when they go bad, as they do? What are battery housings made from? Plastics, petroleum products. To make cars light enough to be powered by electric motors, they must be made mostly of plastics. So we up our usage of petroleum in another are to reduce it in the other?
We can do better, but we must examine the whole picture, not just enough to think we feel good about what we’re doing while costing ourselves more money.
I heard they are going to use the old pipeline that shipped fuel up to loring air force base it’s already their just slide the gas line right up the inside of it fairly cheap fix really if that is the plan.Although gas is only a temporary fix once demand goes up like everything else the price goes up. for now I think it’s a good jump start though.
You heat your house with solar and wind, I’ve had natural gas for 4 years.I’ve cut my bill by 60%. Do some homework, the US has a nearly unlimted supply of this product. The price has been going down-not up.
Are the drop in solar and wind energy production cost directly proportional to the federal funding for the many pieces of those projects? We’re paying out of our other pocket (taxes) to fund tax credits, low/no interest loans, etc. to alternative energy so we are not getting an accurate depiction of the actual costs.
Nearly every step of the way, from windmill and solar cell manufactuers, to large scale installation projects are getting subsidies that we, the Amercan Taxpayer, are funding. Tell us how much a project would cost if you bought everything with your own money from a foreign supplier not getting US tax dollar subsidies and not getting tax breaks or low interest government loans. Then we’ll be able to see how truly cost efficient these systems are.
This is good news for business, but may be a disaster for the planet’s climate depending on how the gas was extracted. If the source was natural gas from a pool, fine. If it came from fracking the methane that is released from fracking is contributing to global arming at a rate many times that of coal or oil. Plus, the risk to drinking water is becoming clear. These costs are not factored into the price of natural gas. So the natural gas may be great for us, today. Not just so great for our kids, tomorrow. Maybe the source of the gas could be determined before we celebrate our good fortune.
I bet you don’t have a problem with the ‘fracking’ needed to run large geothermal plants?
Risk to drinking water?
Fear mongering disappears when you go into gas shale country like the finger lakes of New York and you find gas bubbles in your drinking water from natural leaks; or when you talk with engineers and hydrologists on where the fracking takes place far below the water strata.
Have you factored the mounting costs of maintaining and operating wind turbines into your ROI’s? or the costs of having China own the manufacturing of solar panels and most wind turbines? Or the cost of rare minerals for solar panels and batteries? or the ‘slave labor’ that makes your solar panels, inverters, etc. so affordable?
Who is paying for the pipe line? This build out is happening all over the country. As the demand for natural gas increases the price will rise and not be a good deal. Hook line and sinker we are getting *****.
How about looking to the future. Solar and wind generated electricity is better for Maine. We have the natural resources to be energy independent. If energy is produced here by individuals or by communities our economy benefits. The money stays here.
The cost of producing electricity from solar has dropped 60% over the last six years. It is expected to drop another 10% this year. Why do I think natural gas is not such a good idea? Oh and what about climate change?
Chinese slave labor and robotized factories are the price you pay for reducing the cost of solar PV.
And what Mainer want’s to pay for that??
Chinese labor is producing everything including the computer you are now using. I would pay more for PV if it was made locally or at a fair labor rate.
The point is that solar is affordable and will continue to drop in price. I think most Mainers think of themselves as independent. What better way to go than achieving energy independence. We can grow our own food, make our own stuff, and produce our own energy.
More progress from the LePage/Fletcher team on lowering energy costs, overcoming the unreliable wind farms, and cleaning up emissions from conventional heating plants.
KUDOS LEPAGE!
trucking in LNG to the prison – but some think fighting the opportunity to ship it in- have shipping ports is a good cause? Those people should be shunned for ignorance