Wind Technician

Clearway Energy wind farm and Avangrid transmission proposals selected for Aroostook County renewable energy push. August 25, 2026 The Maine Public Utilities Commission announced the winning bids today for the Northern Maine Renewable Energy Development Program: a new 800-megawatt onshore wind farm in Aroostook County proposed by Clearway Energy Group, and a transmission line to Haynesville proposed by Avangrid. Details of the proposals have been kept confidential so far. Clearway Energy is one of the largest owners of renewable energy generation projects in the United States. Avangrid is the U.S. subsidiary of Iberdrola that owns Central Maine Power. The selections mark a significant milestone in the yearslong push to build transmission infrastructure capable of delivering new, utility-scale renewable energy to New England's electric grid. The Public Utilities Commission previously chose different winners following a 2021 request for proposals, but the projects fell through in 2023 without being built as costs rose following the COVID-19 pandemic. Avangrid's transmission proposal appeared to be the most viable within "a commercially reasonable timeframe," said chair of the commission, Philip Bartlett. The proposal won the bid in large part because it would use existing transmission corridors where the company has already secured rights of way, he added. This time around, Maine is working together with four other New England states. This multi-state procurement process is unprecedented, according to the commissioners. Maine's share of the transmission line costs is expected to be less than 11 percent, and the projects are expected to create 2,500 jobs in the state during construction. The program is also expected to benefit the climate. Wind tends to blow most strongly in the winter when energy costs soar as oil generators need to be brought online. Having this additional renewable energy on the grid is expected to reduce oil-fueled power generation by more than 10 percent, according to Commissioner Carolyn Gilbert. "This both reduces emissions and increases reliability and reduces costs," she said. The Public Utilities Commission still needs to finalize contract terms with the two companies, and then the projects will need to apply for the necessary permits. The transmission line is required to have 1200 megawatts of capacity, so 400 megawatts will still be available after the Clearway wind farm is built. The commission expects to issue another request for proposals for generation projects in Aroostook County to use that transmission capacity. RECENT PRESS RELEASES August 25, 2026

BLM seeks input on Clearway's 500-MW Nevada solar. Aug 10, 2026 10:01 AM ET * Nevada's proposed 500MW Mosey Solar project is open for public comment - BLM will shape its Resource Management Plan and EIS through Aug. 28, plus 850MW storage. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management opened a public comment period for a proposed 500-megawatt Mosey Solar project in Nevada, submitted by Clearway Energy Group LLC through a project vehicle. BLM will accept feedback through Aug. 28 to help shape a Resource Management Plan amendment and a related Environmental Impact Statement. The project would cover about 3,565 acres of BLM-managed land in Clark and Nye counties' Pahrump Valley, connecting to the existing Trout Canyon substation. It also calls for an 850 MW battery energy storage system. The draft EIS is due Jan. 1, 2027, with the final version expected by Dec. 17, 2027, while construction is planned to begin in October 2028 and commissioning in summer 2030. What public input shapes Nevada's 500 MW Mosey Solar and 850 MW storage? * Resource Management Plan (RMP) amendment scope: Public comments help determine what land-use changes are proposed for the Mosey Solar area on Bureau of Land Management-managed parcels, including how compatibility with existing plans is defined. * Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) content: Feedback shapes what alternatives and impact analyses the Environmental Impact Statement must evaluate (e.g., siting variants, design/layout options, and different levels of solar-plus-storage integration). * Land use and siting preferences: Comments can influence where within the project area solar arrays, battery enclosures, substations, and supporting facilities should be located to reduce conflicts with sensitive uses and resources. * Wildlife and habitat protections: Input from tribes, residents, conservation groups, and scientists can guide requirements for avoiding or mitigating impacts to wildlife, habitat connectivity, and sensitive or protected species. * Cultural and historical resource considerations: Public participation can raise concerns about archaeological sites, traditional cultural properties, and other heritage resources and can affect avoidance, survey, and treatment measures. * Air quality and dust controls: Local concerns can shape mitigation measures for construction-related emissions, dust suppression, and operational air-quality considerations during the project build-out. * Noise and lighting: Comments can influence limits or schedules for construction noise, operational sound, and lighting to address neighborhood and wildlife impacts. * Water and wastewater management: Input can guide how water use is modeled and how groundwater/surface-water protections and any wastewater handling practices are addressed. * Transmission and interconnection effects: Stakeholder feedback can affect how the project's connection to existing infrastructure (and any related upgrades) are evaluated for land disturbance and environmental impacts. * Battery-specific safety and siting: Public input can shape how the 850 MW storage system's hazards are analyzed, including fire risk, thermal runaway concerns, emergency response planning, and siting setbacks. * Vegetation, land disturbance, and restoration: Comments can influence requirements for minimizing disturbed acreage, managing invasive species, erosion control, and long-term reclamation/restoration plans. * Traffic, access, and construction timing: Local testimony can affect expectations for haul routes, construction schedules, and safety measures for roadways used during major construction activities. * Emergency preparedness and community coordination: Feedback can drive expectations for public notification, coordination with first responders, and the content of emergency response plans. * Cumulative impacts: Input helps assess how Mosey Solar and its storage component interact with other existing and reasonably foreseeable projects in Pahrump Valley (e.g., combined habitat disruption, air-quality effects, and water use). * Mitigation measures and enforceable commitments: The comment record influences what mitigation becomes specific, measurable, and enforceable within the final decision documents. * Alternatives that reflect community priorities: Public suggestions may push agencies to consider different design approaches (such as different layouts, storage configurations, or operational strategies) that better address public concerns. * Tribal consultation and government-to-government input: Tribes can provide input that affects scoping, study approaches, and mitigation commitments, particularly where federal consultation processes apply. * Data quality and study boundaries: Comments can request additional field studies, better baseline data, or expanded geographic/scenario coverage for the EIS analyses. * Equity and local community impacts: Feedback can highlight concerns about burdens and benefits, including visual impacts, land use changes, and potential local economic or workforce effects. * Formal scoping and issue identification: The public comment period functions to flag "must-address" issues early, which can determine what topics remain central in the EIS and RMP amendment. * Final agency decision direction: The totality of public input helps shape the BLM's eventual selection among alternatives and the conditions attached to any approval.

Clearway officials celebrate rollout of 4 new electrical battery storage facilities in Southern Utah. Elected officials, along with Clearway Energy Group executives, partners, employees and local business leaders, recently celebrated the company's completion of an energy storage project capable of delivering nearly 1.3 gigawatt-hours of reserve power. Clearway CEO Craig Cornelius said the four facilities that comprise the Honeycomb Energy Center - three in Iron County and one in Beaver County - collectively provide enough capacity to power 150,000 homes. "If you think about the relatively small footprint in front of you here," Cornelius told the approximately 150 people gathered for the ribbon-cutting ceremony held at the Honeycomb facility located in the Iron Springs area on Wednesday, May 6. "Each of one of these facilities is located adjacent... to one of Clearway's existing solar projects, although they're entirely separate facilities, each with no physical connection," Cornelius said. According to a Clearway news release, the approximately $600 million investment uses American-made Tesla equipment and 100% domestic steel. All four sites are already operational, having been brought online this spring. "Honeycomb Energy Center includes four distinct 80 MW battery energy storage systems delivering 1,280 megawatt-hours of dispatchable power reserves to the region," the news release states, adding, "The facilities are contracted under 20-year agreements with PacifiCorp, helping the utility reliably serve customers while advancing grid modernization. Each of the storage facilities are constructed adjacent to solar projects owned and operated by Clearway." U.S. Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah) also spoke during the program. "When solar first came out, of course, that was the big knock on solar, right? It's just too bad you can't store energy because the sun only shines so many times a day," Curtis said, adding, "Thank you to an amazing amount of innovation that took place and people that didn't believe that paradigm, that you actually can store energy, and you actually can make something like a solar field far more productive because of the ability to store energy." Curtis also highlighted the symbolism of the honeycomb name and branding, which he noted echoes the industriousness and innovation that characterized Utah's early pioneer settlers. Curtis went on to underscore the importance of such energy projects. "Every factor of our society, including national security, lower prices, is tied into what you're doing here," he said. "When we are strong with energy, we are strong as a country, around the world. When we're not only just energy independent, but energy dominant... we get to make the rules of the road." Curtis admitted there's been mixed messages regarding federal support for renewable energy sources. "It's no secret that there's a lot of confusion in Washington, D.C. about energy and energy policy and different administrations' approach on it," he said. "And it's no secret that renewables sometimes take it on the chin just a little bit back in Washington, D.C. But I want you to know for me and many I associate with... I get how important every electron we produce is." Added Curtis: "We need every electron we can get and from every source. And so, our traditional sources here in Utah are still just very, very important, but it's so important for Utah that we're grasping onto new technologies and new ways to make electrons and put them out into the market." "As we go forward, I fully expect Utah to lead the country and the country to lead the world in energy innovation, and that's why this is so exciting," Curtis said. During his remarks, Cornelius explained how the facility stores and delivers electrical power using an array of Tesla Megapacks - enclosures containing racks of batteries and battery management hardware. "The batteries collect excess power supply during times of low demand, sometimes during the day, when power costs are down, and at times of high demand, the batteries release that low-cost power back onto the grid, improving efficiency, stabilizing costs and helping minimize power disruptions," Cornelius said. In addition to benefiting the power grid, the projects also provide an economic boost to the region, he said. "This portfolio, by itself, represents an over $600 million investment in Utah power infrastructure," he added. "The construction of the four sites created 150 jobs. Operations will sustain more than a dozen full-time positions for skilled local residents." "As a leading renewable energy developer in Utah, Clearway boasts a two-decade-long operating history in the state, completing its first project in 2008," the news release states, adding, "Additionally, Honeycomb builds on Clearway's role as a long-term employer, taxpayer and philanthropic partner in Beaver and Iron counties." Among the benefits touted by Clearway officials were an estimated $60 million in property and sales taxes for schools and public services, along with support for local landowners with long-term leases that help preserve their land and legacy, as highlighted in this company-produced video on YouTube. "There's no money in sheep anymore," fifth-generation sheepherder Steve Sevy said during his remarks, calling the solar panel farm a "big economic boon" to his family. "It's provided some opportunities that wouldn't have been there otherwise, opportunities for education, maybe housing in the form of down payments for children and grandchildren," he said. "It's been a great thing in our life, and we're appreciative of Clearway and the people that work with Clearway." Added Sevy: "We're glad to be part of the green economy and contribute to the tax base indirectly with this lease and contribute to the new jobs in the county." Other speakers during the hourlong event included Tracy Rees, deputy director of the Utah Office of Energy Development; Thomas Burns, vice president of resource planning and acquisitions for PacifiCorp; Brad Harbidge, Megapacks director for Tesla; Clearway staffer Russ Baruffi; and Beaver County economic development director Matt Sterzer. Toward the end of the program, Clearway officials presented a $150,000 to local nonprofit Iron County Care and Share. Iron County Care and Share director James Jetton said he was "deeply grateful" for the donation, which he said will go toward the launch of a "tiny home village" designed to offer safe and stable housing for individuals transitioning out of homelessness. "We just got approved for a grant through the state that, combined with this money, will get us 100% towards the financing that we need to complete this project," Jetton said as he accepted the oversized check representing the donation. For additional information about Clearway's Honeycomb project, visit the company's website. Photo gallery. Clearway Energy Group officials, civic and business leaders and community members gather for the ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the new Honeycomb Energy Center facility west of Cedar City, Utah, May 6, 2026. An array of Tesla-built Megapacks lines the new Honeycomb Energy Center facility west of Cedar City, Utah, May 6, 2026. Iron County Sheriff Ken Carpenter visits with Sen. John Curtis prior to the ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the new Honeycomb Energy Center facility west of Cedar City, Utah, May 6, 2026. Jars of honey and custom embroidered caps were given out to attendees at the ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the new Honeycomb Energy Center facility west of Cedar City, Utah, May 6, 2026. Clearway Energy Group officials join local community leaders as they prepare to cut the ceremonial ribbon celebrating the new Honeycomb Energy Center facility west of Cedar City, Utah, May 6, 2026. Clearway Energy Group officials join civic and community leaders as they prepare to cut the ceremonial ribbon celebrating the new Honeycomb Energy Center facility west of Cedar City, Utah, May 6, 2026. Craig Cornelius, CEO of Clearway Energy Group, speaks during the ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the new Honeycomb Energy Center facility west of Cedar City, Utah, May 6, 2026. Sen. John Curtis speaks during the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Honeycomb Energy Center facility west of Cedar City, Utah, May 6, 2026. Brad Harbidge, Megapacks director for Tesla, speaks during the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Honeycomb Energy Center facility west of Cedar City, Utah, May 6, 2026. Matt Sterzer, Beaver County's economic development director, speaks during the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Honeycomb Energy Center facility west of Cedar City, Utah, May 6, 2026. Iron County Care and Share director James Jetton speaks during the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Honeycomb Energy Center facility west of Cedar City, Utah, May 6, 2026. Clearway officials present an oversized check representing a $150,000 donation to Iron County Care and Share, at the conclusion of the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Honeycomb Energy Center facility west of Cedar City, Utah, May 6, 2026. Information about the Honeycomb Energy Center facility project is displayed on a banner sign, Cedar City, Utah, May 6, 2026. An array of Tesla-built Megapacks lines the new Honeycomb Energy Center facility west of Cedar City, Utah, May 6, 2026. Attendees visit with one another following the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Honeycomb Energy Center facility west of Cedar City, Utah, May 6, 2026. An array of solar panels faces the noonday sun in a field adjacent to the new Honeycomb Energy Center facility west of Cedar City, Utah, May 6, 2026.