First Wind has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with New Brunswick Power (NB Power) to sell all of the energy from its 42 MW Mars Hill Wind project in Maine. This four-year deal replaces the PPA that is set to expire in December.
NB Power won the opportunity earlier this year to provide standard-offer service to all customer classes in northern Maine. The prior PPA entailed the power being sold to the utility, and then to ISO-New England, where it was distributed to the New England grid. Now, the power from Mars Hill Wind will be distributed directly to local ratepayers in northern Maine.
‘NB Power is pleased to be working with our partners in northern Maine to optimize our transmission system,’ says Gaetan Thomas, president and CEO of NB Power.
First Wind currently owns and operates three wind projects in Maine: the Mars Hill project and the 57 MW Stetson Wind I and 26 MW Stetson Wind II projects. In addition, construction is nearly complete on the 60 MW Rollins Wind project in Lincoln, the company says.
