Two New Paths
For the past few years, Iberdrola Renewables and NextEra Energy Resources (formerly FPL Energy) traded places atop the rankings of wind project developers in the United States.
Now, they seemed to have embarked upon aggressive paths for pieces of their business ventures: transmission paths.
Last week, Iberdrola announced the sale of three natural gas companies in New England and will use the $1.3 billion in proceeds to fund transmission projects needed to build wind projects in Maine and upgrade overall reliability in New England.
At about the same time, NextEra Vice President Mike O'Sullivan was discussing the company's renewable energy business prospects at the American Wind Energy Association conference in Dallas. He said how NextEra built its own private 500 miles of transmission lines in Texas last year to serve its projects.
So now it seems that the two biggest wind companies in the U.S. have determined that they need to push forward on transmission. One is building its own lines and the other is selling non-core assets to bring wind energy to load centers. A key difference is the Iberdrola project will include some cost recovery from ratepayers.
In Iberdrola's case, the Spanish company is divesting itself of non-core assets to concentrate on wind. Its Connecticut Natural Gas (CNG), Southern Connecticut Gas (SCG) and Berkshire Gas Company (BGC) are being sold to subsidiaries to UIL Holdings in a transaction valued at $1.3 billion.
The Maine project is slated to begin in June and will meet the electricity needs of 7 million customers and facilitate the incorporation of new renewable energy capacity in the New England grid. Completion is expected in 2015.
The project was approved by the Maine Public Utility Commission. A final permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is expected soon.
Maine has set a goal of 3,000 megawatts of wind capacity by 2030, but transmission has been a primary impediment.
This project looks like it will start to remedy that issue.
The editorial staff at RenewablesBiz.com is passionate about exchanging ideas and dedicated to promoting ongoing conversation about renewables and sustainable energy issues. We invite you to join and contribute to our online community. If you have an idea for an article or editorial contribution, please contact me via email, bopalka@energycentral.com, or phone, 860.633.0090.
