Vermont regulators approve new line to bring Canadian renewables to New England
Clean Power Link construction will begin in 2016 and the line should be in service by 2019. By then, ISO-New England estimates it could need up to 6,300 MW of new capacity and the new hydro and wind from the Clean Power Link to diversify will help diversify its natural gas-dominated fuel mix.
The Clean Power Link and ISO-NE’s new capacity need will combine to create an opening for what First Wind CEO Paul Gaynor described to Utility Dive as a new kind of 24/7 renewables offering. “Instead of a 20-year PPA [power purchase agreement] for wind only or solar only, what the utility should really want is an around the clock solution.”
