Maine Transmission Line Remains a Billion Dollar Controversy
A $1 billion project involving the construction of a new Maine transmission line has been an extremely controversial subject for residents and stakeholders within the state. In fact, a whopping $66 million has already been spent on the battle, making it the most expensive referendum in the state’s long and storied history. This begs the question, why?
Why the Maine Transmission Line Project has Proven Divisive
The $1 billion project, called the New England Clean Energy Connect, is expected to generate an impressive 1,200 MW of hydropower from Canada, and integrate it into the New England electric grid.
Although it would be funded by customers (i.e., ratepayers), there would seem to be multiple benefits, such as stabilizing electric rates across the region, reducing reliance on power sources that emit carbon into the atmosphere, and helping at least one state – Massachusetts – reach its renewable energy goals.
Thus, seems like a no-brainer, right? Wrong! At least according to some people. Critics are mainly worried about the ecological impact to the forest areas on which the transmission infrastructure will be erected. Unfortunately, over 75% of the forest area required for the transmission line has already been removed (at he time of this writing). Not helping matters is that an additional 53 miles unexpectedly needed to be flattened due to a shortfall reaching the Canadian border.
I can definitely see both sides of the dilemma. That said, my true passion is utility emergency preparedness, and so anything that expands supply and improves reliability, such as the Maine transmission line, is going to get the thumbs-up from me.
The unfortunate part about this divisive situation is that, no matter what the outcome of the referendum, the battle will likely wage on. It’s a shame, because no one wins when tens of millions of dollars have to be wasted on such fruitless activities. At the very least, the bad blood that is likely to linger will probably slow down the construction process, delaying the benefits. Hopefully, the parties involved will swallow their pride and come to some kind of consensus sooner rather than later.
