January 14, 2015
Maine

Iberdrola weighs 100MW in Maine

13/01/2015 | renews.biz

Spanish developer Iberdrola Renewables is laying the groundwork for a 100MW wind farm in Maine, US.

“The prospective project is an early to mid-stage development with four met towers up and some field studies done,” Iberdrola spokesman Paul Copleman told reNEWS.

The Fletcher Mountain scheme will feature 30 to 35 turbines, depending on turbine type and final layout.

The wind farm would interconnect via a 115kV radial transmission line into utility Central Maine Power Company’s (CMP) Wyman Hydro substation.

Since CMP is also an indirect subsidiary of Iberdrola, the state Public Utilities Commission must sign off on an interconnection request.

Maine law prohibits power distribution companies from owning generation assets. For now, the developer is seeking commission approval for CMP to negotiate a transmission line right-of-way and carry out some engineering.

Iberdrola has leased around 10,000 acres of land in Somerset County and the developer aims to submit a project permit application to the state Department of Environmental Protection this summer.

“There is still plenty of homework to do as we evaluate the site, work to define a possible layout, continue multiple studies and meet with local and regional stakeholders,” added Copleman.

In 2013, the Fletcher Mountain project was awarded a 15-year power purchase agreement with a group of four Massachusetts utilities. However, Iberdrola cancelled the contract after failing to receive corporate approval, according to a regulatory filing.

Elsewhere in Maine, Iberdrola is conducting wind studies at a site in Washington County in the north-east corner of the state.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2015/01/14/iberdrola-weighs-100mw-in-maine/