New England Affirms Faith in Wind Energy’s Future

INSIDE CLIMATE NEWS • September 15, 2026

On Aug. 25, Maine’s Public Utilities Commission selected winning proposals in a years-long effort to turn more of northern Maine’s howling winds into energy that can power population centers in the southern part of the state and region. The PUC selected one developer to build 800 megawatts of new onshore wind energy in Aroostook County—enough to power over 300,000 homes—and another to build a new transmission line capable of carrying up to 1,200 MW of power to Southern Maine and New England. Six hundred MW of the first tranche of power are reserved for Maine. Advocates of renewable energy cheered the move.