PORTLAND, Maine (AP) _ Maine regulators have once again approved a deal that gave Canadian utility Emera a stake in First Wind.
The state Supreme Court in March ordered the Maine Public Utilities Commission to re-examine a deal in which Nova Scotia-based Emera invested more than $300 million to have a 49 percent stake in Boston-based First Wind's Northeast project portfolio.
State law restricts relationships between transmission companies like Emera and power producers like First Wind to prevent favoritism of one power producer over another on the grid. But the PUC decided Tuesday that the deal passes muster, even under new guidance provided by the Supreme Court.
First Wind, which has several wind generation projects in Maine, said it hopes to keep the Emera relationship intact. First Wind is Maine's largest wind developer.