The Maine Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) has dismissed a petition filed by Grid Solar LLC requesting MPUC approval to become an electric transmission utility. Grid Solar proposes to meet future peak power needs in Maine with distributed solar and propane generation.
MPUC, however, has ruled that Grid Solar is a generation facility, not a transmission and distribution utility. Under this classification, Grid Solar will now not need a certificate of public convenience and necessity for its project.
Grid Solar has presented its distributed solar power project as a non-transmission alternative to Central Maine Power's (CMP) expanded transmission line proposal, the Maine Power Reliability Project. Grid Solar's proposed solar generation units are to connect to CMP's distribution system.
‘The decision is not a judgment on the merits of commercial-scale solar, the Grid Solar project in particular or Grid Solar's role in another pending case – that of the Central Maine Power transmission line,’ notes Sharon Reishus, MPUC chair.
SOURCE: Maine Public Utilities Commission
