May 20 – Solar energy provided all the electricity needed to power a service area of more than 11,000 customers in northern Maine for a few hours in early May, a first in the large, sparsely populated region that its electricity depends on a Canadian power grid.
Unlike other regions in the state that are connected to the New England electrical grid, the Fort Kent area in northernmost Maine is connected to New Brunswick Power Corp. The dominant features of the region are “electrical isolation, large geographic size, small electricity demand and modest population”. ” according to a May 2023 vision statement from the Northern Maine Independent System Administrator, which manages northern Maine’s transmission system and electricity markets in Aroostook and Washington counties.
The combined population of Aroostook and Washington counties was less than 99,000 in 2022.
Northern Maine is unique, the outlook says, because most of its generation comes from renewable sources. Solar energy accounts for just under 10% of the region’s 109 megawatt capacity, with the majority coming from wind and hydropower, the independent system operator said.
Versant Power, the region’s energy provider, said it has worked with developers since 2020 to connect more than 140 megawatts of solar power to the grid and has processed more than 1,780 applications to connect renewable generators in the same four years connect energy to the distribution network. year period. It is working with the owners of more than 400 projects to integrate 382 MW of renewable energy in northern and eastern Maine, exceeding the region’s total electricity demand.
Versant said it expects similar energy conditions in the Fort Kent area on sunny days in the spring and fall, when conditions are best for solar energy production and mild temperatures reduce electricity demand.
The ability to rely on the sun’s rays for energy – even for a few hours – is partly the result of a decentralization of energy generation, allowing smaller producers to feed electricity into the grid.
“Reimagining the purpose of our electric grid, originally built to deliver power in one direction, is no easy task in a rural state with diverse needs,” said Versant President John Flynn.
Unlike the original one-way model of the electric grid – where energy is sent from the utility to customers – decentralized forms of energy production, known as ‘distributed generation’, increasingly produce power that is sent to a utility, which in turn supplies its electricity customers.
“I think it’s a great day for the state of Maine to generate its own electricity and not have to leave the state,” said Bob Cleaves, co-founder and lead investor of Dirigo Solar, which powers Versant.
The Portland-based solar developer has three projects in development at Limestone, Masardis and Sherman, Cleaves said. Started in 2015, Dirigo has invested $150 million in Maine and operates seven solar projects, he said, generating more than 100 MW of solar power, which is cheaper for Versant customers than the state’s standard offering, which is the standard offering .
Dirigo sells its power to Versant for 3.5 cents per kilowatt hour, and customers pay 7 cents – significantly less than the standard offer of 11.3 cents per kWh.
Cleaves credited a 2019 Maine law with expanding solar energy in the state by broadening incentives in a policy known as net energy billing. The incentives have generated a lot of interest from solar developers, but have also drawn criticism for being too generous at the expense of the electricity ratepayers who subsidize the program.
“As a result, there was very little domestic tax until 2019,” Cleaves said, referring to electricity consumption.
The expansion of community solar projects — so-called solar farms that serve as an alternative to rooftop solar not suitable for sparsely populated areas — allowed Aroostook County to develop its own energy, he said. The number of solar farms in Aroostook County now exceeds the electricity load and promises to produce more 100% solar energy, he said.
“You’ll see more of these events,” Cleaves said.
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