Maine Awarded $33.8 Million in Federal Funding Across Twenty-One Hydropower Projects

Maine has received a combined $33.8 million in federal funding across twenty-one projects designed to improve the state’s hydropower infrastructure.

This comes as part of a $430 million distribution from the Maintaining and Enhancing Hydroelectricity Incentives program, funded by the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

Administered by the Grid Deployment Office (GDO), this program is designed to “enhance existing hydropower and pumped storage facilities for capital improvements directly related to grid resilience, dam safety, and environmental improvements.”

Eligible for funding through this program are “capital improvements” allowing for the “integration” of other renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar, as well as those which improve dam safety and environmental conditions.

Hydropower currently accounts for about 27 percent of the country’s renewable energy generation, as well as 93 percent of “utility-scale” energy storage and 5.7 percent of all utility-scale power generation.

According to the federal Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, hydropower — also called hydroelectric power — is “one of the oldest and largest sources of renewable energy” which uses the flow of moving water to generate electricity.

Hydropower is used in all but two states — Delaware and Mississippi — for some degree of power generation, reaching as high as 66 percent in Washington State in 2020.

The Office goes on to explain that hydropower is considered affordable in comparison to other forms of renewable energy as it has “relatively low costs throughout the duration of a full project lifetime in terms of maintenance, operations, and fuel.”

“Like any major energy source, significant upfront costs are unavoidable, but hydropower’s longer lifespan spreads these costs out over time,” the Office said. “Additionally, the equipment used at hydropower facilities often operates for longer periods of time without needing replacements or repairs, saving money in the long term.”

Award values for projects in Maine range from $5 million for Lockwood Hydroelectric Project on the Kennebec River and $49,500 for the Gambo Project on the Presumpscot River.

Maine was one of the states to have the most projects funded, led only by New York and California with 35 and 39 respectively.

“As our earliest form of renewable energy generation, hydropower has reliably kept America running for almost 150 years—and the Biden-Harris Administration is ensuring these long-standing facilities can continue the steady flow of clean power,” U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm said in a statement last week. “Today’s funding will expand and modernize our hydropower fleet, while protecting thousands of American jobs.” 

“Hydropower plays a critical role in unlocking Maine’s clean energy future, and is key to increasing energy efficiency and reliability,” Maine’s delegation — including Sens. Susan Collins (R) and Angus King (I), as well as Reps. Jared Golden (D) and Chellie Pingree (D) — said in a statement Friday.

“This $33.8 million investment will not only improve grid resilience and dam safety, but will also make environmental improvements such as enhancing fish passages,” they wrote. “These upgrades will help preserve Maine’s natural resources while supporting thousands of jobs across our state.”

“Thanks to the historic investments in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we’re ensuring that hydropower remains both a reliable energy source and providing greater flexibility for achieving environmental solutions going forward,” said the lawmakers.

Click Here to Read the Delegation’s Full Press Release

Last month, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) awarded Maine $147 million to construct a multi-day energy storage system in Lincoln designed to “enhance grid resilience and optimize the delivery of renewable energy.”

Located at the site of the former Lincoln Mill, this facility will be the first of its kind in New England and represents the “largest long-duration energy storage project” worldwide to date.

This grant came as part of a larger $389 million sum awarded to New England more broadly “to strengthen the regional electric grid and advance the deployment of clean energy” through the Power Up New England project.

With Maine’s portion of this funding, Form Energy — based in Somerville, MA — will develop an 85-megawatt storage facility at the Lincoln Technology Park that utilizes “iron-air technology” to allow the battery to continuously discharge energy for just over four days.

Although iron-air batteries are not yet broadly available in commercial markets, the technology has shown promise as a more cost-effective grid-scale battery than other, more common lithium-based batteries.

Funds from this award will also be used to “strengthen the transmission system to support the delivery of higher loads of power from renewables, including nearby onshore wind turbines.”