New Hampshire rejects Quebec-Massachusetts transmission proposal

northern pass commission

subscribe

MONTREAL -

Regulators in the state of New Hampshire on Thursday rejected a major electricity project being piloted by Quebec’s hydro utility and its American partner, Eversource.

Members of New Hampshire’s Site Evaluation Committee unanimously denied an application for the Northern Pass project, a week after the state of Massachusetts green-lit the proposal.

Both states had to accept the project, as the transmission lines were to bring up to 9.45 terawatt hours of electricity per year from Quebec’s hydroelectric plants to Massachusetts, through New Hampshire.

The 20-year proposal was to be the biggest export contract in Hydro-Quebec’s history, and would generate up to $500 million in annual revenues for the provincial utility.

Hydro-Quebec’s U.S. partner, Eversource, said in a new release it was “shocked and outraged” by the New Hampshire regulators’ decision and suggested it would appeal.

“This decision sends a chilling message to any energy project contemplating development in the Granite State,” said Eversource. “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 Hampshire Union Leader reported Thursday the seven members of the evaluation committee said the project’s promoters couldn’t demonstrate the proposed energy transport lines wouldn’t interfere with the region’s orderly development.

Hydro-Quebec spokesman Serge Abergel said the decision wasn’t great news but it didn’t put a end to the negotiations between the company and the state of Massachusetts.

The hydro utility had proposed alternatives routes through Vermont and Maine should the original plan fall through.

“There is a provision included in the process in the advent of an impasse, which allows Massachusetts to go back and choose the next candidate on the list,” Abergel said in an interview. “There are still cards left on the table.”

Related News

Europe is producing all-time highs of wind and solar energy

Europeans push back from Russian oil and gas

BERLIN - Europe is producing all-time highs of wind and solar energy as the 27-country group works to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels from Russia.

Four months after Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the European Commission launched REPowerEU. This campaign aims to:

  • Boost the use of renewable energy.
  • Reduce overall energy consumption.
  • Diversify energy sources.

EU countries were already moving toward renewable energy, but Russia’s war against Ukraine accelerated that trend. In 2022, for the first time, wind and solar power surpassed gas as a source of electricity. Wind and solar provided a record-breaking 22% of EU countries’ electrical supply,…

READ MORE
energ-use-history

How Energy Use Has Evolved Throughout U.S. History

READ MORE

sask powerlines

The crisis in numbers: How COVID-19 has reshaped Saskatchewan

READ MORE

canada-electricity-exports-at-risk-amid-growing-us-canada-trade-tensions

Canada's Electricity Exports at Risk Amid Growing U.S.-Canada Trade Tensions

READ MORE

The Innovative Solution Bringing Electricity To Crisis Stricken Areas

The Innovative Solution Bringing Electricity To Crisis Stricken Areas

READ MORE