The courts unblock the ‘megaproject’ of the Iberdrola electricity network between the US and Canada
The Supreme Court of Maine declares unconstitutional the referendum that last year paralyzed the electrical interconnection that will create this new line to transport the energy produced by hydroelectric plants in Quebec
Iberdrola has been reactivated network megaproject Come in USA Y Canada for the supply of clean energy to Massachusettswhose estimated total investment amounted to about $950 million (about 951.5 million euros), after the Supreme Court of Maine has declared unconstitutional the referendum that last year paralyzed the electrical interconnection.
Thus, the group chaired by Ignacio Sanchez Galan sees how one of its great projects in the United States is unlocked, the so-called New England Clean Energy Connect (NECEC).
In the project, which had received the green light for all authorizations at the beginning of 2021, 450 million dollars (about 450.7 million euros) had already been invested in its development.
The citizens of the State of Maine voted in a referendum last November against the construction of the project developed by Central Maine Power, a subsidiary of avangridtogether with the Canadian HydroQuebeca decision now declared unconstitutional by the Maine Supreme Court.
In a statement, Avangrid considered that this unanimous decision of the Court of Justice “is a victory for the expansion of clean energy, the development of transmission and decarbonization efforts in Maine, New England and throughout the country.”
The company claimed that “It’s time to move away from the ‘status quo’ of fossil fuel companies who will undoubtedly continue their fight to maintain a stranglehold on the New England energy market”warning that these companies had fought this project “in every possible legal way, presenting challenge after challenge in a desperate effort to maintain their market share.”
Avangrid also highlighted that this interconnection project is good for Maine, “because it generates hundreds of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars of investment in the State at no cost to Maine” and will offer lower energy prices, helping to protect “against the wild fluctuations in price now being experienced by Maines who depend on fossil fuels.”
In partnership with Hydro-Quebec, it is planned that this project transports clean hydroelectric power from Quebecsignificantly reducing carbon emissions in New England.
1,200 MW
The power transmission ‘megaline’ will provide 1,200 megawatts (MW) of renewable hydropower to the New England power grid in Lewiston, Maine.
All costs will be borne by Massachusetts electricity customers. Once built, the NECEC will be the largest renewable energy source in New England and will represent a fundamental energy shift away from the use of fossil fuels while providing lower energy costs in Maine and New England.
Spanning 145 miles, the line is built on land owned or managed by Central Maine Power. The project will create more than 1,600 skilled jobs during the two-and-a-half-year construction period and provide $200 million in improvements to Maine’s power grid, making electricity service from Maine safer.
Related news
.
