Adapted from Robert Whitcomb’s Digital Diary, in GoLocal24.com
It looked like the long-delayed power line to run from hydro-electric generation in Quebec (comfortably close to us) into the New England grid was kaput after a legally dubious referendum in Maine blocked the line. The project is called New England Clean Energy Connect.
But the Maine Supreme Judicial Court held last month that important sections of the law enacted by the referendum were unconstitutional because they deprived the company building the line -- Avangrid -- of rights that had already been legally vested before the vote. In short, the justices opposed the retroactive nature of the referendum.
Now the case goes back to a lower court for review.
Note that well-funded opposition to New England Clean Energy Connect includes such still fossil-fuel-heavy companies as NextEra Energy, which naturally see the power line as threatening their businesses.
The story is far from over, but in a world of accelerating global warming and countries held hostage by corrupt dictatorships financed by natural gas and oil, the Maine decision is a glimmer of good news.
