CONCORD, N.H (AP) - The Latest on the decision by Massachusetts to end plans to secure its clean energy from the Northern Pass hydropower project (all times local):
3:15 p.m.
The company behind a Maine hydropower project says it’s grateful that it has been chosen to provide clean energy to Massachusetts.
The Massachusetts Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs says it will reverse course and terminate the earlier selection of Eversource’s Northern Pass project in New Hampshire. The state will instead move toward an agreement with New England Clean Energy Connect, a hydropower project proposed by Central Maine Power Co. Both projects would get their hydropower from Canada.
James Torgerson is the chief executive of Avangrid, the parent company of Central Maine Power. He says the $950 million project will provide Massachusetts with power for 20 years and “will continue to deliver benefits for New England consumers for decades beyond.
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10:46 a.m.
Massachusetts has dropped a $1.6 billion project that was set to deliver hydropower from Canada through a 192-mile transmission line in New Hampshire.
The decision to terminate the earlier selection of the Northern Pass project from Eversource was announced Wednesday by the Massachusetts Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.
The state will instead move toward an agreement with New England Clean Energy Connect, a hydropower project proposed by Central Maine Power Co.
New Hampshire regulators voted to reject Northern Pass last month over concerns about potential negative impacts on the environment and tourism.
Eversource asked for reconsideration, but the Site Evaluation Committee said it would not do so until May. That’s well past the deadline set by Massachusetts for moving forward with a large-scale clean energy project mandated under a 2016 law.
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