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Maine wind moratorium affects 2,763 MW of existing, planned capacity

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Maine wind moratorium affects 2,763 MW of existing, planned capacity

The executive order Maine Gov. Paul LePage issued on Jan. 24 could have an effect on 2,763 MW of planned or operating wind capacity in the state, an S&P Global Market Intelligence analysis concluded. The executive order placed a moratorium on the permitting of new wind farms in the state and established a wind energy advisory commission to review the economic impact of operating wind plants.

Overall, Maine has 922 MW of operating wind capacity and another 1,841 MW of planned capacity.

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Ownership of Maine's existing and planned wind capacity is spread among more than a dozen companies.

Riverstone Holdings LLC, through developer Pattern Energy Group LP owns the most potentially impacted wind capacity in the state, with 594 MW of planned capacity, all of which comes from a 99% ownership stake in the King Pine Wind Project. Pattern owns the remaining 1% itself. King Pine is projected to be online by January 2020 and is in Aroostook County, Maine.

Private equity investor IIF US Holding 2 GP owns the second-largest amount of impacted wind capacity in Maine, with 381 MW operating and 144 MW planned for a total of 525 MW. The output of its 186-MW Bingham Wind - Blue Sky West facility in Somerset County, for example, is committed under contract to Massachusetts utilities until late 2031 and a portion of the output of its 51-MW Hancock Wind Project in Hancock County is committed under contract to a Massachusetts utility through 2041.

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Some other larger wind projects in development have been delayed. EDP Renewables North America put its 250-MW Number Nine Wind Farm on hold in late 2016 "due to an unexpectedly lengthy interconnection process which resulted in mutual termination of its power purchase agreement with its offtakers." The developer said it intended to reapply in the future.

The Maine Land Use Planning Commission in December 2017 denied a petition from NextEra Energy Inc. to expand the permitting area for its proposed 227-MW Alder Stream Wind Project in Penobscot County, Maine, as well as another planned wind project, both of which would include battery storage capacity. NextEra said, according to a Maine Public Radio report, that it could pursue other permitting options for the development.

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