The Maine Public Utilities Commission has reopened the bid window for the development and construction of a northern Maine energy generation project and a transmission line to connect with the ISO-New England grid.
The project, the Northern Maine Renewable Energy Development Program, is a second attempt to solicit bids under a 2021 Maine law ordering bids for northern Maine power generation and transmission, following the failed King Pine Wind and LS Power project.
The reopened bidding process launched Monday. When completed, the project could save Mainers hundreds of millions of dollars, energy experts said.
The King Pine and LS Power project was plagued by a complicated contracting process, long delays and cost increases. Keeping the lessons learned from the failed project in mind, state regulators have taken measured steps to solicit feedback from potential developers.
In this go-round, the PUC worked several information and feedback opportunities into the process before drafting the RFP. It joined with other New England states to share in the cost that could eventually reduce the state’s dependence on natural gas given the volatility of that market.
With all six New England states sharing in the costs for regional transmission investments, Maine ratepayers could pay much less of the overall cost for a project in the northern part of the state, according to clean energy experts.
Reopening the bid window allows as many bidders as possible to develop proposals and participate, bringing the northern Maine generation and transmission line one step closer to reality, according to the public utilities commission’s order issued on Monday afternoon.
The decision to extend the timeline and amend the RFP “solicits proposals that are ratepayer beneficial and result in the approval of contracts that are in the public interest,” said Commissioner Phil Bartlett during Monday’s deliberation on the matter.
The commission received multiple standalone and joint bid proposals in response to this second RFP, but they also received several requests for a longer bid window, the commission said in the new order.
The effort by ISO New England, which operates the region’s power grid, will likely support the upgrade of a key substation, potentially in Pittsfield, and other changes to move power farther south into New England. That could make it easier to tap into the mostly undeveloped wind energy potential of northern Maine, according to Jack Shapiro, director for clean energy programs at the Natural Resources Council of Maine.
The current RFP does not specifically require wind generation, but Shapiro said it most likely will be wind or a combination of wind and solar because of cost efficiencies and the untapped wind power in northern Maine.
While experts tout the power of northern Maine’s wind energy potential, harnessing that wind and getting the electricity it produces to the power grid has had its share of obstacles and stalled attempts, including the Number Nine Wind Farm, canceled in late 2016, and the Aroostook Renewable Gateway, which was canceled in December 2023.
Still, Shapiro is optimistic.
“This is exactly the kind of project that can help make us less dependent on fossil fuels and make energy more affordable for Maine families and businesses, so we’re hopeful,” he said.
The new bid submission timeline:
May 22: Deadline for potential bidders to submit questions
May 29: Bids due for standalone or joint transmission projects
June 12: Bids due for standalone or joint generation projects
Contracts are slated to be awarded in June.
