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When the sun rises on America each day, it hits Eastport, Maine — the easternmost point of the continental US — first. Eastport is a small community of 1300 hardy people who live on an island on the edge of the Bay of Fundy. If you are looking to be in the lobster business or to sail the waters between Maine and Nova Scotia, it’s the ideal spot, but it lacks a reliable supply of electricity when powerful storms rake the coast of Maine. Eastport is at the end of a 40-mile-long transmission line. When the power goes out, it stays out until repairs are completed. The only backup power supply is from a microgrid that harnesses solar and tidal power and battery storage.
Making Eastport energy resilient has put it at the forefront of Maine’s renewable energy transition and made it a leader in energy independence work for remote…
