| Wind Watch is a registered educational charity, founded in 2005. |
Massachusetts taps Northern Pass for hydropower project over CMP bid
Credit: By Bob Salsberg, The Associated Press | January 25, 2018 | bangordailynews.com ~~
Translate: FROM English | TO English
Translate: FROM English | TO English
Massachusetts has given preliminary approval to Eversource’s Northern Pass proposal to deliver hydropower to the state from Quebec.
State officials on Thursday said the project from the Manchester, N.H.-based company had been selected from among dozens that had submitted bids under a 2016 state law that called for a significant boost to the supply of renewable energy in Massachusetts.
Central Maine Power submitted a $950 million bid, which it said in a telephone press conference last December that it thought would be lower than other bids, even though bids were sealed.
CMP said in an emailed statement to the Bangor Daily News that it is disappointed, but still believes the proposed New England Clean Energy Connect project will contribute to New England’s long-term need for clean, renewable energy.
CMP has been quietly buying up a corridor of land in western Maine from Canada to the Massachusetts border to tap hydropower from Hydro-Quebec and move it south, and plans to keep that project going.
“The company will keep to its permitting schedule to be ready for a construction start by mid-2019,” CMP spokesman John Carroll wrote.
Eversource plans to build a 192-mile transmission line from hydroelectric plants in Canada that will carry power through New Hampshire.
Massachusetts Commissioner of Energy Resources Judith Judson said Northern Pass was selected because it offered the “greatest overall value” to the state and its utility customers.
State officials said the next step will be to negotiate a final contract with Northern Pass before the project is given final approval by utility regulators.
Reporter Lori Valigra of the Bangor Daily News contributed to this story.
This article is the work of the source indicated. Any opinions expressed in it are not necessarily those of National Wind Watch.
The copyright of this article resides with the author or publisher indicated. As part of its noncommercial educational effort to present the environmental, social, scientific, and economic issues of large-scale wind power development to a global audience seeking such information, National Wind Watch endeavors to observe “fair use” as provided for in section 107 of U.S. Copyright Law and similar “fair dealing” provisions of the copyright laws of other nations. Send requests to excerpt, general inquiries, and comments via e-mail.
| Wind Watch relies entirely on User Funding |
 (via Stripe) |
 (via Paypal) |
Share:
[ Short URL: https://wind-watch.org/news/?p=86593 ]
