The developer and operator of six wind farms in Maine filed for bankruptcy protection Thursday.
While SunEdison has already spun off the actual ownership of existing facilities to other companies, its demise raises questions about future projects it planned in Maine.
SunEdison bought out Boston-based First Wind more than a year ago, and it quickly sold off First Wind's Maine wind turbines in places like Mars Hill, Stetson and Oakfield. SunEdison maintained a stake in the new companies, but they also include well-financed entities such as an investment fund run by JP Morgan.
Observers in Maine's energy community say because those projects have locked in long-term power supply contracts, the blades should keep spinning no matter what the ownership. So property taxes and other financial commitments to host communities should be safe. A SunEdison spokesman says that a Bingham PROJECT that's now under construction, which will be New England's largest wind plantation, is already financed and will be completed.
But the fate of a SunEdison proposal for an even bigger wind plantation in Aroostook County, called King Pine, is less certain. SunEdison is partnering with CMP parent company Avangrid and Bangor Hydro parent Emera in a bid to to sell energy from King Pine to southern New England states. Avangrid spokesman John Carroll says that even if SunEdison falls by the wayside, suitors are already lining up.
"We have actually already been approached by a number of third parties who've expressed an interest in investing or acquiring the project as a new partner if SunEdison is not able to move ahead," Carroll says.
The King Pine proposal is competing with many others from around the region, and some observers say uncertainty about SunEdison's future won't help the Maine project's case. Southern New England regulators expect to award the contract for renewable energy by late July.