Northern Pass

From MassLive:

"New Hampshire blocks Northern Pass power line, Massachusetts' 1st pick for Canadian hydropower transport"

A $1.6 billion New Hampshire power line recently chosen to deliver massive amounts of Canadian hydropower to Massachusetts has been shot down.  The New Hampshire Site Evaluation Committee on Thursday denied an essential state permit to Northern Pass Transmission, a project of Eversource Energy and Hydro-Quebec. The committee concluded that the project failed to show it would not impact property values, tourism and land use.  The bombshell New Hampshire vote comes one week after Massachusetts officials chose the 192-mile Northern Pass in a high-stakes, weighted procurement contest to deliver low-carbon electricity to homes and businesses in the Bay State in the form of utility contracts worth billions of dollars.  Now the future of the Northern Pass is uncertain, and the Massachusetts Clean Energy RFP is on the rocks. Eversource had expressed confidence that the New Hampshire permit would be granted and that Northern Pass would be operational by the end of 2020.  Greg Cunningham, a vice president for Conservation Law Foundation, said the New Hampshire rejection represents an opportunity for the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources to "go back and choose the best project -- which clearly was not Northern Pass."  Eversource could appeal the New Hampshire decision to that state's highest court. "However, that could be a lengthy process," Cunningham said.  One reason Massachusetts chose Northern Pass was because it could ostensibly start delivering low-carbon energy on an expedited timetable -- and now that apparent advantage over competing transmission proposals is gone.  On Jan. 25, Massachusetts energy commissioner Judith Judson announced that Northern Pass and Hydro-Quebec would be the sole winners of lucrative 20-year contracts to provide Massachusetts utilities Eversource, National Grid and Unitil with 9.45 terrawatts of clean energy per year.  In the Massachusetts contest, Northern Pass prevailed over several other proposals for transmission lines through Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont -- some viewed more favorably by environmentalists, and others that claimed to be more economical. The Eversource line would be buried 60 miles through the White Mountain National Forest.  Critics took aim at the Massachusetts decision-making process, noting that Eversource and National Grid as utilities had seats on the state-sponsored committee that evaluated projects advanced by Eversource and National Grid as developers -- even though the corporation agreed to an ethics standard and an outside procurement monitor.  The New Hampshire vote "raises serious questions" about the claim Northern Pass would be in service at the end of 2020, said Chloe Gotsis, spokeswoman for Attorney General Maura Healey, who last week vowed to scrutinize the Massachusetts bidding and procurement process.  "At a minimum, it appears today's development requires re-evaluation of the selection of Northern Pass. The attorney general's office remains committed to an open and transparent review, and we will be following this closely," said Gotsis.  Eversource issued the following statement:

"We are shocked and outraged by today's SEC outcome. The process failed to comply with New Hampshire law and did not reflect the substantial evidence on the record. As a result, the most viable near-term solution to the region's energy challenges, as well as $3 billion of NH job, tax, and other benefits, are now in jeopardy. Clearly, the SEC process is broken and this decision sends a chilling message to any energy project contemplating development in the Granite State. We will be seeking reconsideration of the SEC's decision, as well as reviewing all options for moving this critical clean energy project forward." 

The New England Power Generators Association, which advocates for competitive wholesale power markets, said the Northern Pass project was "a fundamentally flawed project based on bad economics."  Environmentalists who had fought the controversial Northern Pass since it was first announced in 2011 expressed relief and said it is time to pick another project. "This decision gives Gov. Baker the perfect opportunity to pick better clean energy projects that deliver more jobs and economic benefits for Massachusetts families and businesses," said Emily Norton, of the Massachusetts Sierra Club.  Competing high-voltage lines from the Canadian border were proposed in Vermont by TDI New England, in Maine by Central Maine Power and Emera, and in New Hampshire by National Grid. Dozens of wind and solar proposals in the northern states had also hoped for the Massachusetts utility contracts.  Massachusetts is under a court order to implement its own Global Warming Solutions Act, which requires slashing carbon emissions by 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. Massive clean energy procurements were mandated by Baker's 2016 Energy Diversity Act.

^ This article only focuses on Massachusetts (it is from Mass Live after all) and does little to nothing to mention how Northern Pass would have affected New Hampshire. I don't see why they can't bring the power from Quebec through Vermont and Massachusetts. I have seen some of those proposals and they seem better for everyone involved - especially the environment. I just hope Northern Pass doesn't get approved in an appeal. ^

https://articles.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2018/02/report_new_hampshire_plans_to.amp