Maine's utility regulators have restarted the process of selecting contractors to build a massive wind power development and extensive electric transmission line in Aroostook County.
The Public Utilities Commission is considering comments it received on a draft request for proposals it filed for the project last month.
The state wants to develop 1,200 megawatts of renewable power and connect it to the New England electric grid with a power line that could stretch more than 100 miles.
Commission chair Phil Bartlett said the proposal comes as the regional grid operator ISO-New England is preparing to select projects to upgrade transmission across the region. Electric demand is growing and expected to soar in coming years.
"There is going to be significant infrastructure investments that will be needed going forward no matter what we do," Bartlett said.
"The question is what kind of resources do we want to procure what kind of economic developments do we want to secure for the state of Maine in that process," he added.
Maine lawmakers directed the PUC to procure energy and develop the power line in 2021. But plans for the development fell through almost two years ago amid concerns about the cost and route of the power line.
This time around, Maine hopes that four other New England states will join in supporting the project. Massachusetts, Vermont, Rhode Island and Connecticut are interested in securing new power generation and developing better transmission infrastructure, Bartlett said. That could help defray the cost of the project.
"Because when any one of us brings on renewable or any other generation into the system, that has a positive effect in terms of reliability, in terms of lowering cost, in terms of carbon emissions," he said.
The draft RFP is the first step in what is likely to be a long development process. Bartlett said renewable power might not be connected to the grid until 2032. And there is likely to be considerable debate about the route of the transmission line and wind generation development along the way.
The commission intends to put the project out to bid for contractors by the end of 2025.
