Approval for 57 MW project in New England

UPC Wind is on its way to breaking its own record as it moves towards construction of a second wind plant in Maine that will take over as the largest in the New England region. The company secured an approval from Maine's Land Use Regulation Commission (LURC) for its Stetson Wind Project, a proposed 57 MW wind plant in northern Maine's Washington County. UPC's Travis Small describes the approval as a big hurdle out of the way. "They are already moving forward with some pre-construction activities including the transportation and staging of materials," he says. Several of the required wildlife studies are complete and the project has the support of Maine Audubon, Natural Resource Council, Appalachian Mountain Club and Conservation Law Foundation. UPC Wind need only resubmit its final plans to LURC for review before beginning construction. The company's 42 MW Mars Hill project is currently the largest in the six state New England region. Also in Maine, TransCanada is proposing a 44 turbine, 132 MW wind plant along Kibby Mountain and Kibby Range in the Boundary Mountains of Maine. TransCanada, through its subsidiary Cartier Wind Energy, is already a major wind project developer in its home country. Like UPC's project, TransCanada's proposed development is also under LURC review.