Energy Company Files Lawsuit Over Maine Referendum That Blocks Mass. Hydropower Transmission Project
Maine voters put the brakes on a project to deliver hydropower from Quebec to Massachusetts in a referendum Tuesday. The utility company behind the plan filed a lawsuit the following day, challenging the constitutionality of the ballot question.
The Baker administration had been counting on the hydropower project to help Massachusetts meet its goals to decrease carbon output, but Maine voters approved a ballot measure Tuesday that would ban the construction of "high-impact" transmission lines through their state. The lawsuit argues the ballot question violated the company's rights by retroactively blocking a project that followed the law in place when it received full regulatory approvals.
The 145-mile transmission project was opposed by some Maine environmental groups, which argued it would damage the state's woods, waters and wildlife.
"It puts a cloud over this project about how or if the project can move forward," said Peter Rothstein, president of Northeast Clean Energy Council, an organization representing the clean energy industry in the region, including Avangrid, the parent company behind the project.
Read more: https://www.wgbh.org/news/local-news/2021/11/03/energy-company-files-lawsuit-over-maine-referendum-that-blocks-mass-hydropower-transmission-project
