A wind energy expert is adding his voice to those who say upgrading Maine’s power transmission system is critical for the state to reach its wind-power potential.
Larry Flowers of the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory addressed about 300 people attending Maine’s first Wind Energy Conference on Tuesday, which closely followed the state’s first overseas trade mission dedicated exclusively to wind power.
Flowers said that while Maine leads New England with 95 percent of the region’s installed wind power, New England lags behind the rest of the nation in generation of wind energy. New England’s governors have endorsed a plan calling for up to one-third of the region’s electric power to come from wind by 2030.
But for Maine to reach its potential, its power transmission system will have to be upgraded to get the power to the rest of the regional market, said Flowers. Maine is not unusual in this regard, said Flowers, who called it “a sticking point everywhere.”
Gov. John Baldacci, who opened the daylong conference and also led the late-September trade mission to Europe, agreed that making Maine a viable supplier of power from wind and other renewable energy sources must go hand-in-hand with transmission line upgrades. Central Maine Power Co., the state’s largest electric utility, is proposing a $1.4 billion upgrade of its transmission system.
Maine has two major wind farms in operation, three under construction and several others in planning stages. (AP)
