Washington County, Maine – September 24, 2025 – The company behind Maine’s newest wind farm welcomed state and local officials, landowners, and other community members to its new operations and maintenance facility on Wednesday to celebrate the completion of the Downeast Wind project and hand-deliver the first of many community benefit agreement payments to local governments. Apex Clean Energy completed construction on the 126-megawatt, 30-turbine wind project earlier this year, which was led by Maine-based Reed & Reed and other local contractors. The project began generating homegrown wind energy for the local electric grid in April, enough to power the annual electricity needs of 37,000 average homes. Apex CEO Ken Young marked the occasion by presenting over $1.2 million in community benefit payments to the Town of Columbia and Washington County, the first of many annual payments that will result in nearly $20 million in new local revenue to support community priorities, including workforce training and education, environmental stewardship, public health, and emergency services. Continue reading

Apex Clean Energy is now accepting applications for the next round of awards from the Downeast Wind Community Grant Program.   Since 2020, the program has provided more than $100,000 in funding to local and regional non-profit organizations. Recent recipients include the Wild Blueberry Heritage Center, Healthy Acadia, and the Gallison Memorial Library.   Click here to apply   Local organizations working in the Town of Columbia, and the broader Washington County community are encouraged to apply. Grant awards generally range from $250 to $4,000, with priority given to proposals that demonstrate meaningful impacts to the community in the focus areas identified below. Building Healthy Communities – supporting public health or enhancing the quality of life in the community. Economic Development – supporting the economic wellbeing of the community. Environmental Sustainability – supporting environmental revitalization, sustainability, or empowering residents to be stewards of the environment. Promoting Education – supporting educational initiatives, especially the advancement of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Applications will be accepted until September 2, 2025. If you have any questions about the program, please contact us at [email protected].   Developed and operated by Apex Clean Energy, Downeast Wind generates enough clean, homegrown energy each year to power the equivalent of 37,000 average American homes . The project began operations earlier this year and delivers significant benefits to the local economy through revenue agreements with Washington County and the Town of Columbia that will see more than $20 million generated for local projects and priorities over the project's lifetime.   To learn more about the project, or to apply for a future grant, visit www.downeastwindfarm.com.

Apex Clean Energy is proud to announce that Downeast Wind has reached commercial operations as of April 2, 2025 and is putting clean energy on the grid as Maine's newest operating wind project. Thank you to our construction partners at Reed & Reed for leading a safe and efficient construction team of more than 250 workers, more than 75% of whom were Mainers. In the coming months, the project will begin delivering significant benefits to Washington County and the Town of Columbia through community benefit agreements supporting support investments in public health, infrastructure, public safety, vocational education, small business grants, economic development, water quality, and environmental stewardship. As the project moves into operations, we look forward to continued engagement with the community through our grant program, ensuring prompt responses to any project related complaints, and delivering our first tax and community benefit payments to local governments later this year.  Introducing Our Facility Manager  Downeast Wind is pleased to welcome John Cribbs as the project's facility manager. John has a decade of experience as a wind technician and site supervisor and we're thankful that he has chosen to bring that wealth of knowledge to Downeast Wind. Alongside John, a team of wind technicians will help ensure Downeast Wind is operating smoothly and safely, in compliance with permit conditions and community expectations.

Downeast Wind and Apex Clean Energy are pleased to announce eight regional organizations as the latest round of Downeast Wind Community Grant recipients. The program recognizes meaningful local efforts to build healthy communities, support economic development, foster environmental sustainability, and promote education. “When reviewing grant applications, we get to see firsthand the commitment, creativity, and enterprise of Washington County residents,” said Robert Gee, Development Manager for Apex Clean Energy. “As Downeast Wind advances to construction and takes a more permanent place within this community, we are both thrilled and humbled to call them neighbors and look forward to seeing the results of these great projects.” The Wild Blueberry Heritage Center will receive a $2,000 grant to support the construction of the Wild Blueberry Walkway & Garden, an educational initiative that promotes greater awareness of Maine’s wild blueberry habitat, provides experiential education about local food systems, and celebrates Downeast Maine heritage. Funds from Apex Clean Energy will help to develop and install interpretive signage along the 150-foot wheelchair-accessible pathway, accompanied by wild blueberries, native pollinator plants, and outdoor exhibits based on wild blueberry heritage and ecology. "Thank you so much for considering the Wild Blueberry Heritage Center for a Downeast Wind community grant. We are thrilled to have the support," said Program Director Kaysie Logan. "Through the development of the exhibits and gardens, we can offer educational programming and local produce to the community through workshops, events, and school field trips." A $1,000 grant to the Machias Arts Council (MAC) will help raise awareness of upcoming community events including First Friday Art Walks taking place the first Friday of the month from June-September this year. "We are thrilled and honored to receive this grant from Apex Clean Energy to support the arts in Machias and the surrounding area," said Tim Markley, Chairman of the MAC. "We have great plans and many programs in development, but as a relatively young organization, we lack the funds to embark on many of them. This grant will allow us to move forward."  Gateway Milbridge was awarded a $1,500 grant to support their summer "Friday Night Live" concert series running weekly from July 7 to August 25 at the Milbridge Town Marina. “Gateway Milbridge is deeply grateful for the grant support from Downeast Wind to help us make available a free summer outdoor concert series to all the residents of Downeast, Maine," said Richard Bondurant, Treasurer for the organization. "It’s the support and investment back to the community from companies like Downeast Wind that’s making so much happen for Milbridge and the region.” Women for Health Rural Living received a $1,000 grant to support educational materials and educator stipend's tor the August 19 Butterfly Festival at Milbridge Commons Wellness Park. “This support will help educate our community about the importance of pollinators and provide a family-friendly experience for all,” added Executive Director Chris Kuhni. A $2,000 grant to Washington Academy will pay for the installation of a new solar panel system along with electricity and water hookups for their garden greenhouse. The Washington Academy community garden program has produced over 8,000 poundsof produce for the Machias Area and other food pantries since 2017. "This funding will enable solar panel installation, ensuring the sustainability of our garden. It will also allow us to establish a functional greenhouse with a frost-free spigot and power supply, increasing our ability to provide fresh produce to local food pantries and combat food insecurity within our community," said Washington Academy Biology Teacher Colleen Maker, who helps lead the program. The Coastal Washington County Institute of Technology was awarded a $2,000 grant to support Health Occupation students participating in the CNA SkillsUSA Competition "The students and staff at CWCIT truly appreciate the support Apex Clean Energy gives to their local schools," said staff member Nancy Bailey. "Their financial support certainly has made a difference in some of our projects. This adds to the continuous growth and success of our programs."  Other grantees include a $1,000 grant to Jonesboro Grange to purchase locally-made raised beds for the Jonesboro Grange Countywide Community Garden and a $3,500 grant to the Epping Fire Department to replace a twenty-year-old thermal imaging camera in one of their primary pumper trucks used to respond to structure fires. These eight grant awards total $13,500 for this program's spring grant cycle. Since its inception, the Downeast Wind Community Grant program has supported more than 25 regional organizations with grants totaling more than $75,000. In addition to the Community Grant Program, Downeast Wind will bring more than $20 million of new revenue to the Town of Columbia and Washington County to support community priorities as well as significant local spending, employment, and investment during project construction and operations.