SUN JOURNAL • January 22, 2026
Representatives from a company developing a $1 billion pumped storage hydropower project in Oxford County were featured speakers at a recent meeting of the River Valley Rotary Club. Western Maine Energy Storage plans to build an upper and lower reservoir, each 100 acres. The two reservoirs will be connected by a pipe. A powerhouse sitting just above the lower reservoir will generate electricity whenever water flows down from the upper reservoir and passes through a turbine. That electricity can then be passed on to the grid. The two artificial reservoirs will help store and generate 500 megawatts of on-demand power, stabilizing the grid by using excess renewable energy to pump water up and releasing it during peak demand. The purpose is to provide on-demand, firm renewable energy, balancing intermittent wind and solar power.