State regulators have authorized a $63.6 million Central Maine Energy transmission line improve within the Midcoast regardless of protests that it’s being undertaken partly to fulfill the longer term power wants of a deliberate industrial-size salmon farm in Belfast.

The Maine Public Utilities Fee on Tuesday put aside residents’ issues concerning the deliberate Nordic Aquafarms land-based salmon farm undertaking and rejected an alternate proposal that the world’s rising power wants may as an alternative be met by deliberate photo voltaic farms and different distributed power assets within the area.

The improve impacts the 115-kilovolt, 23-mile “Part 80” transmission line that runs between substations in Windsor and Warren. As a pooled transmission facility, its price could be shared by the six states below grid operator ISO-New England’s jurisdiction, and Maine’s share of roughly 9 p.c could be paid for by the ratepayers within the type of transmission prices.

Typically, 115-kilovolt strains are liable for distributing energy from bigger transmission programs and technology amenities to finish customers all through the state.

Greater than 300 Maine residents had spoken out in opposition to the improve, calling it a ratepayer-funded subsidy to Nordic Aquafarms, which expects to attract 25 to 26 megawatts at full capability, however CMP and regulators say it’s wanted due to documented energy overloads and different points on the growing older line. 

Nordic Aquafarms plans to construct a $500 million salmon farm on 55 acres beside Little River in Belfast and has acquired all of the wanted regulatory approval together with a U.S. Military Corp of Engineers allow. The corporate has stated the power would produce tens of tens of millions of kilos of salmon per 12 months.

REQUEST DATES BACK TO 2008

The improve was initially proposed by CMP in 2008 however was deferred by a PUC order in 2010, together with an improve to a Portland transmission line, in order that alternate options could possibly be explored.

CMP then requested in January 2020 that the rebuild and improve be reconsidered due to Nordic Aquafarms’ request to connect with the system. It additionally requested an expedited evaluate of Part 80, however later withdrew that request earlier than PUC made a ruling on it.

Whereas the salmon farm’s request created a way of urgency for the undertaking earlier than its development was delayed by authorized challenges, the rebuild would nonetheless be wanted with out it, stated Catherine Hartnett, company communications supervisor for Avangrid, CMP’s mum or dad firm.

“Nordic Aquafarms didn’t enter the image till we had already at the least as soon as requested this due to the expansion within the space,” Hartnett stated. “I don’t imagine that we’d have been in a position to provide them with the facility that they wanted for his or her undertaking with out it, however definitely the necessity predated them, as nicely.”

Erik Heim, president of Norway-based Nordic Aquafarms, stated he has acquired a assure from CMP  – a “capability to serve” certification – that it will possibly present energy to fulfill its wants no matter whether or not Part 80 is rebuilt.

As well as, since fish must be stored alive always, the system can’t be completely reliant on an influence system that’s weak to outages.

The salmon farm plans embody a big biofuels and diesel backup generator on web site that may generate sufficient energy for the salmon farm to function in “island mode” off-grid for a number of days. This additionally would supply the flexibleness to transition to island mode in occasions of excessive power demand within the space to scale back stress on the grid.

Although 25 to 26 megawatts “seems like lots,” Heim stated, “if you evaluate it to the power use of air freighting for salmon within the U.S. that’s generally the case for 90 p.c of the salmon consumed within the U.S. as we speak, it’s a actually good equation. You save in your carbon footprint, and also you save loads of power.”

TORRENT OF OPPOSITION

Heim stated he has come to know the “protest tradition” in Maine, and that every one the opposition to the Part 80 rebuild got here from “our opponents recruited by Belfast.”

The now-approved improve undertaking had acquired a torrent of opposition from residents of Belfast and surrounding areas. Greater than 360 public feedback had been submitted to the PUC, with many citing the aquaculture undertaking as their most important cause for opposing the improve.

“I urge you to heed the Maine Workplace of the Public Advocate and The Effectivity Maine Belief’s recommendation and deny CMP’s request for a $63 million energy grid improve wanted for a proposed ecologically harmful, undesired (by the overwhelming majority) land-based Atlantic salmon torturing manufacturing facility,” wrote Belfast resident Kate Harris in her feedback. “Particularly as their morally bankrupt company welfare scheme is predicated on passing as a lot of the invoice as attainable on to we the overburdened peasantry.”

In response to residents’ claims that the salmon farm undertaking would impression ratepayers, Heim stated Nordic is paying all prices of connecting to the grid, which he stated is within the tens of millions of {dollars}.

“This undertaking began a very long time earlier than we even entered the scene,”  he stated. “These are long-term stability points relating to the grid of New England, not simply in Maine, that must be addressed.”

Michael Lannan, of Northport, was among the many commenters against the improve. He stated the suggestion by CMP and Nordic that the grid wanted to be upgraded anyway is “merely not the case with the present enhancements in battery storage and the potential for a future industrial consumer to offer the distributed technology that was requested of Nordic,” and that the facility plant it permitted is insufficient.

Many submitted the identical remark that approving the transmission line rebuild “would set an unacceptable precedent of the general public subsidizing a nonessential, foreign-owned agribusiness to construct and function its speculative land-based aquaculture enterprise.”

Regulators briefly addressed the opponents’ issues of their deliberations on Tuesday.

“I need to be clear that the proof of the document demonstrates that the rebuild of Part 80 could be wanted even with out the potential future load development from Nordic Aquafarms,” PUC Chairman Philip Bartlett stated.

Bartlett famous that that ISO-New England discovered reliability deficiencies in research performed in 2020 and 2021, and it reaffirmed the necessity for the undertaking in a technical convention in February.

“Furthermore, utilities have been prohibited from unfairly discriminating in opposition to clients, and the fee typically has no function in deciding whether or not a selected buyer shouldn’t be allowed to interconnect electrical programs as long as they’ll accomplish that safely and reliably,” Bartlett stated.

FIRST DECISION UNDER NEW LAW

It was the primary undertaking state utility regulators have dominated on below Maine’s new “non-wires various regulation” authorized in 2019, which requires an evaluation of different methods to fulfill power wants – utilizing such distributed power assets as photo voltaic, wind, hydro, and mills – when including or rebuilding transmission strains is proposed.  It additionally requires that the PUC to provide desire to the choice if it addresses the necessity of the proposed transmission line most affordably.

The Workplace of Public Advocate, which coordinates the choice evaluation, argued that the improve was pointless, and that upkeep and minor upgrades could be ample. The non-wires various proposed that enormous mills and authorized Midcoast photo voltaic farms which can be in CMP’s queue for connection to the grid will likely be ample to fulfill the world’s anticipated wants.

“We’ve come to the conclusion that CMP has not put ahead a justification for what’s a extremely a reasonably costly undertaking,” stated Public Advocate William Harwood. “Lots of it’s to increase the capability of this line. I’m not satisfied that we’d like that expanded capability.”

Nevertheless, the PUC stated it discovered quite a few flaws and unanswered questions within the various proposal. It discovered that its cost-benefit evaluation overlooked important prices, that it didn’t present evaluation of the impacts to the lower-voltage distribution system, and that its reliance on photo voltaic technology wouldn’t be satisfactory for winter peak hundreds.

Bartlett stated that though the general public advocate workplace’s report disputed the necessity to contemplate winter peak hundreds, he believed it was “irresponsible” not to take action. The commissioners concluded that the choice wouldn’t meet the world’s wants reliably, and so it adopted the employees advice to approve rebuild of the transmission line.

“We’re upset with the ruling,” Susan Chamberlin, senior counsel for the Workplace of Public Advocate stated in an e mail Tuesday. “The choice displays disagreement about the way in which utilities decide when greater transmission strains are wanted. Up to date research strategies used within the non-wires various evaluate enable for better accuracy and due to this fact inexpensive options to fulfill system reliability wants.”

Chamberlin stated her workplace will contemplate an enchantment as soon as it sees the written resolution.

Hartnett, of Avangrid, stated development is anticipated to start on  Part 80 in early 2023.

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