CMP gets $425 million for Northern Maine power corridor

Central Maine Power’s parent company is in line to receive nearly half a billion dollars from the federal government to build a 111-mile power line in Northern Maine.

The US Department of Energy award is contingent on Avangrid winning a state contract to build transmission that connects potential wind farms in Aroostook County to the regional grid.

The money is part of the Biden administration’s push to develop new energy sources, said CMP spokesperson Jon Breed. It’s one of the biggest federal investments in Maine energy development to date.

“Unlocking new renewable energy in different parts of the country is critical and transmission is the way to do it,” Breed said.

The Maine Public Utilities Commission earlier this year restarted a bidding process to generate and transmit 1.2 megawatts of clean power, called the Northern Maine Renewable Energy Development Program.

Regulators terminated a similar proposal last year over concerns about project costs and land impacts.

But the $425 million award could help solve the cost issues and Avangrid plans to build on existing power corridors, Breed said.

“At this point we don’t intend to use eminent domain like was discussed previously on the past project we can largely do this with areas we control,” he said.

The award would help cover the cost of building a new substation in Haynesville and a high-capacity transmission line that connects to an existing substation in Pittsfield, according to the energy department’s grid deployment office.

In a press release, Governor Janet Mills applauded the unprecedented funding that “has the power to transform the energy future of northern Maine.”

“By expanding our transmission infrastructure, this investment can make the electric grid more stable and reliable and allow us to harness affordable, clean energy generated right here in our own backyard instead of having to import expensive and harmful fossil fuels from out-of-state “Mills said.

Maine Public’s Climate Desk is made possible by Androscoggin bank, with additional support from Evergreen Home Performance, Bigelow Laboratory, & Lee Auto Malls.