MAINE MORNING STAR • February 9, 2026
New wind projects could be coming to Northern Maine — just not new power. The Maine Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has released a final Request for Proposals (RFP) for up to 1,200 MW of new onshore wind or other renewable generation — enough to power nearly 450,000 homes — plus a new transmission line to carry that power to southern Maine and New England. Maine has been trying for years to build new renewable generation in its most remote northern counties, Aroostook and Washington, an area with enormous potential wind and biomass resources but one that, due to a historic quirk of grid architecture, is electrically disconnected from the rest of New England. With the effort facing headwinds ranging from a hostile presidential administration to local opposition to transmission, the destination for the power could become the thorniest issue of all.