A Massachusetts company wants to build an underwater electric cable from Wiscasset to Boston. The “Green Line” project is just starting its way through the federal and state regulatory system.
The proposed 140-mile underwater cable would provide more electricity to the Boston area, while avoiding the difficulty of building new high tension, above ground power lines.
Steve Conant of the New England Independent Transmission Company says Maine can become a major source of renewable energy in the coming years, and the cable would provide a way to send that power to the people who need it.
“We’re not generating any power. We’re not tied up with any particular fuel source. But if you look at what’s happening here in Maine, with the governors’ encouragement of renewable energy sources, whether its wind, whether it’s biomass, tidal energy that they’re looking at in Washington County comes to pass, to support that you need more transmission to make that happen,” said Project Vice President Steve Conant.
Conant says it will take as much as four years for the New England Independent Transmission Company to get all the permits they need to build the cable.
The head of Maine’s Public Utilities Commission says he has real concerns about the project, because current New England utility rules would force Maine consumers to help pay for the cable.
The project will be reviewed by federal regulators.
Web Editor: Rhonda Erskine, Online Content Producer
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2006/12/29/underwater-electric-cable-proposed-between-maine-and-massachusetts/