A Texas-headquartered energy company with installations in more than 20 states has brought a utility-scale battery energy storage project online in Maine. Plus Power on February 11 said the group’s 175-MW/350-MWh Cross Town Energy Storage facility is now the largest of its kind in New England.
The company called the Cross Town installation, located in Gorham, Maine, the largest battery energy storage system (BESS) project on the ISO New England power grid.
“Today, Maine welcomed the largest energy storage project of its kind in New England, delivering real cost savings and reliable power for Maine,” said Janet Mills, the state’s governor, at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday. “This project will help lower electricity costs by reducing the need for costly fossil fuels when the grid is strained, as we’ve seen during recent extreme cold weather. I congratulate the Town of Gorham and Plus Power on this significant achievement that will deliver lasting savings and reliability for Maine people.”
Plus Power credited Maine’s leadership on battery energy storage policies for its decision to invest in Gorham and build the Cross Town project. The installation supports Maine’s goal of deploying at least 400 MW of battery energy storage by 2030. Officials also noted that BESS projects such as Cross Town enable the integration of more renewable energy resources to the power grid, which supports the state’s goal for 90% of its electricity sales to be from renewable sources by 2030, and 100% by 2040.
Easing Transmission Congestion
Cross Town, sited on about five acres, interconnects adjacent to Central Maine Power’s 115kV Moshers substation, where officials said the transmission grid is particularly congested. The facility’s location is expected to ease congestion and support the use of wind power from Northern Maine to meet demand in Southern Maine and the Boston, Massachusetts, area. Officials said Cross Town also will help ISO New England, the regional grid operator, replace lost power generation capacity from the retirement of gas-fired and other thermal power plants.
“Plus Power is proud to operate another landmark facility in New England and further strengthen power reliability in the region,” said Naveen Abraham, Plus Power’s CEO. “We look forward to continuing our partnership with ISO New England as our facilities demonstrate the unique capabilities of battery energy storage systems.”
Cross Town features 156 units of Sungrow’s flagship PowerTitan battery energy storage system. Plus Power worked with Maine-based Cianbro Corp. on engineering, procurement, and construction of the facility.
Cross Town is Plus Power’s second BESS project in New England. The company’s 150-MW/300-MWh Cranberry Point Energy Storage in Carver, Massachusetts, came online early last year. Officials said both Cross Town and Cranberry Point were 100% available and operating at full capacity during the recent Winter Storm Fern, a major weather event that brought snow, ice, and extreme cold temperatures to much of the country, including the U.S. Northeast.
Plus Power’s portfolio includes 11 GW of projects in more than 20 states. It owns nine operating facilities, totaling 1,650 MW and 4,150 MWh of capacity, in Arizona, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, and Texas.
—Darrell Proctor is a senior editor for POWER.
