I’m sure the “perfect is the enemy of the good” environmentalists will look for more legal blockades, but good news from Maine: A jury has unanimously ruled that the the Quebec hydropower line through that state the one that was proposed when we nixed Northern Pass in NH – can proceed despite the 2021 ballot initiative that blocked it.
The Globe story is here. tux Turkel’s story in the Portland Press-Herald is here. Turkel notes the plan “still faces legal challenges in state and federal court, including appeals of a permit granted by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.”
This comes after a 17-year – 17-year!!!! – battle to build a power transmission line in the high plains finally went through.
And speaking of clean/unclean energy in New England, the New Hampshire Bulletin has an update on the Merrimack Station coal plant in light of their failure in the latest capacity auction. The story (read it here) is detailed and focuses on a legal fight between the plant and a supplier over quality of coal. The owners won’t comment on the plant’s future, but the head of the regional independent power operators group says he suspects it will keep going: “At least for now it does not appear to indicate any imminent closure or retirement of that plant.”
Return to the Concord Monitor