MONTREAL — Hydro-Quebec will now need to go through Maine as part of a massive export deal to sell hydropower to Massachusetts.<\/p>\n
The U.S. state announced Wednesday it was dropping the $1.6 billion Northern Pass project that was set to deliver hydropower from Quebec through New Hampshire.<\/p>\n
Instead, the Massachusetts Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs announced it will move forward with New England Clean Energy Connect, a $950 million hydropower project proposed by Central Maine Power Co. and Hydro-Quebec beginning in 2022 — two years later than the previous proposal.<\/p>\n
“We are very satisfied to have been chosen,” said Hydro-Quebec spokeswoman Lynn St-Laurent. “We have received a go-ahead to negotiate a deal.”<\/p>\n
Hydro-Quebec and its U.S. partner will have until April 25 to come to a deal. Hydro-Quebec will also need to determine the costs on this side of the border, including a route in Quebec to build a transmission line to the Maine border.<\/p>\n
The provincially-run utility will have to return to the drawing board, including impact, technical and environmental studies.<\/p>\n
“The process will get underway in the spring, in the coming weeks,” St-Laurent said.<\/p>\n
Described as the biggest export contract in Hydro-Quebec’s history, it is expected to bring in $10 billion to its coffers over the lifetime of the deal.<\/p>\n
Hydro-Quebec and U.S. partner Eversource Energy continue to insist the Northern Pass project is a good one, even if Massachusetts has changed course.<\/p>\n
The Quebec Crown corporation was betting on the Northern Pass, which would have cost $680 million for the Quebec side and $1.6 billion south of the border.<\/p>\n
Under the deal, Northern Pass would have brought up to 9.45 terawatt hours of electricity annually from Quebec’s hydroelectric plants to Massachusetts for 20 years starting in 2020.<\/p>\n
After intense opposition, New Hampshire regulators voted to reject Northern Pass last month over concerns about potential negative impacts on the environment and tourism.<\/p>\n
Eversource asked they reconsider but were told a decision wouldn’t come until May, which was well past a deadline set by Massachusetts for moving forward with a large-scale clean energy project mandated under a 2016 law.<\/p>\n
A spokesman for Eversource says there are other avenues available to getting the project done, including the courts.<\/p>\n
From Hydro’s perspective, St-Laurent said the energy transition in New England won’t go away.<\/p>\n
“The need for clean energy will continue to be present in the coming years,” she said, meaning Northern Pass could come together for a different project.<\/p>\n
— with files from Associated Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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