Con Edison Transmission has bagged an approval from ISO New England for its proposed Maine Power Express project, which is a 1,040MW transmission line.
In its approval, the regulator said that the transmission line can reliably interconnect with the regional power grid in Boston, Massachusetts.
Created by the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), ISO New England monitors the functioning of bulk electric power system and transmission lines of its member utilities in the New England region.
ISO New England, by approving the application of the transmission line project, has indicated that Maine Power Express will not have a major, adverse impact on the regional grid’s reliability or operating characteristics and also on its participants.
An approval from the institution is a must to seek a connection to the New England grid.
The Maine Power Express project is planned to transmit 1.04GW of power underground and undersea from Northern Maine to Boston, stated Con Edision.
According to the company, Maine Power Express is competing in the Massachusetts Clean Energy RFP. The clean energy program is offering power purchase agreements (PPAs) for a 20-year-term for renewable energy and associated transmission.
Maine Power Express is competing jointly with the 630MW County Line Wind facility in the Massachusetts Clean Energy RFP program.
Con Edison Transmission, which had secured exclusive rights to develop Maine Power Express, expects to be both the owner and operator of the transmission line project.
The electricity and natural gas distribution company says that renewable and non-renewable producers have shown considerable interest in using the Maine Power Express for transmitting their generate power.
Maine Power Express is expected to become fully operational in 2022.
The high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) project would feature a 1.04GW AC/DC Converter Station in Southern Aroostook County in Maine.
It will also have a 166km underground HVDC transmission line that will be buried in an existing energy corridor to Searsport in Maine along with a 322km submarine HVDC transmission line, submerged in the ocean to Boston.
Image: Con Edison Transmission’s Maine Power Express project moves forward in New England. Photo: courtesy of Con Edison Transmission, Inc.