Reactions pro and con to CMP's $950M bid emerging as winner

Courtesy / Hydro Quebec Hydro Quebec is now negotiating with Central Maine Power to deliver 1,200 megawatts of power to Massachusetts via CMP's 145-mile New England Clean Energy Connect transmission project.

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By James McCarthy

Central Maine Power is in and Eversource Energy is out, as Massachusetts announced Wednesday it was terminating its conditional selection of the Northern Pass Hydro transmission project in New Hampshire and instead selecting CMP’s $950 million New England Clean Energy Connect proposal.

The announcement, posted on the Massachusetts Clean Energy RFP’s website, stated that the electric distribution companies that put out the RFP “are in the process of concluding contract negotiations with the New England Clean Energy Connect 100% Hydro project (“NECEC Hydro”) and intend to execute agreements with NECEC Hydro for submittal to the Department of Public Utilities, assuming negotiations are concluded successfully.”

Today’s announcement is the latest twist in the Bay State’s efforts to secure 20-year power purchase agreements to meet ambitious clean energy goals. The Massachusetts Clean Energy consortium — which included Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources, Eversource Energy, National Grid and Unitil — initially had selected Eversource Energy’s Northern Pass project on Jan. 25 as the only winner out of of the 50 proposals responding to its Clean Energy RFP.

But the Northern Pass project to deliver hydro power from Hydro Quebec hit a roadblock on Feb. 1 when the New Hampshire Site Evaluation Committee voted 7-0 to reject the 192-mile Northern Pass proposal by Eversource. Shortly after, CMP’s NECEC proposal to deliver 1,200 megawatts of power from Hydro Quebec via a 145-mile transmission line in Maine, was selected as the alternative winning bid should Northern Pass fail to meet a March 27 deadline set by the Bay State.

That deadline passed on Tuesday with no decision being made by the New Hampshire Site Evaluation Committee to reverse its earlier rejection.

When NECEC was named as the Bay State’s alternative winning bidder, CMP President and CEO Doug Herling said Maine's largest utility was poised to step in and deliver 1,200 megawatts of clean power to Massachusetts.

"Our applications for state and federal permits are moving forward with the strong support of communities and stakeholders in Maine," Herling said. "We believe the NECEC is a cost-effective response to Massachusetts' needs, and given our experience building projects of greater scale and complexity here in our home state, we're confident we can meet our commitments to the Commonwealth."

CMP submitted applications for all state and federal permits in mid-2017. The company expects to receive state approvals later this year and final federal permits in early 2019.

Next steps

Courtesy / CMP

Central Maine Power Co. President and CEO Doug Herling.

The Massachusetts distribution companies require that all necessary agreements be finalized and executed as soon as possible. CMP’s parent company, AVANGRID, reported on its website that it is pursuing contract negotiations with the NECEC project with a goal of delivering agreements to the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities by an April 25 deadline.

The Canadian Press reported Wednesday that Massachusetts’ switch to CMP’s project over Northern Pass will require Hydro Quebec to complete environmental impact and technical studies, including a determination of costs, for building a transmission line to the Maine border through Quebec.

"The process will get underway in the spring, in the coming weeks," Hydro-Quebec spokeswoman Lynn St-Laurent told The Canadian Press. "We have received a go-ahead to negotiate a deal."

The Canadian Press described the 1,200 megawatts of hydropower deal with CMP as the biggest export contract in Hydro Quebec's history, reporting that it is expected to bring in $10 billion to Hydro Quebec’s coffers over the lifetime of the deal.

It also reported that the Northern Pass project would have cost Hydro Quebec $680 million for a new transmission line on the Quebec side and $1.6 billion for a 192-mile transmission line south of the border through New Hampshire.

Eversource Energy's response

Eversource Energy indicated on its website that despite Wednesday’s setback it would continue to pursue the Northern Pass project with Hydro Quebec.

“We understand today’s decision by the Electric Distribution Companies to terminate the conditional selection of the Northern Pass Transmission hydro proposal, given the status of the New Hampshire permitting process,” the company stated. “Despite recent delays, we continue to believe that Northern Pass is the best project for the region and New Hampshire, and we intend to pursue all options for making it a reality. Eversource and Hydro Québec remain committed to the success of the project. No other project has obtained the necessary approvals from federal permitting authorities in the U.S. and Canada, and secured agreements with major contractors and the IBEW.”

Conservation Law Foundation issues statement

Conservation Law Foundation, in a statement released Wednesday after Massachusetts dropped Northern Pass as its clean energy bid winner, called on Eversource to end its pursuit of that project.

"Taking Northern Pass off the table is the right call for Massachusetts and New Hampshire," said Greg Cunningham, vice president and director of CLF's Clean Energy and Climate Change program. "Having been rejected now by two states, the writing is on the wall for Northern Pass — Eversource should pull its plug once and for all."

NRCM opposed to CMP's project

Courtesy / CMP

Map showing Central Maine Power's New England Clean Energy Connect transmission proposal to connect Hydro-Quebec power to the New England power grid.

In a statement issued Wednesday, the Natural Resources Council of Maine stated its opposition to CMP’s NECEC project, characterizing it as the wrong solution to meet Massachusetts’ clean energy goals.

“Maine and New England need to increase the use of renewable power to further reduce fossil fuel burning and meet our critically important greenhouse gas reduction goals. However, there are many ways to achieve that objective,” NRCM stated. “ First and foremost, we should look to new renewable energy sources like wind (on and offshore) and solar, which are less likely to cause large-scale environmental impacts than large hydroelectric dams.”

Other objections raised by NRCM:

“About 53 miles of CMP’s NECEC proposal would create a brand new transmission corridor. The rest of the line would require new vegetative clearing and expanding transmission line development within existing corridors. CMP has proposed to build above-ground transmission lines across the Kennebec River Gorge, three points on the Appalachian Trail, wetlands (affecting more than 76 acres), 115 streams, 12 inland waterfowl and wading bird habitat areas, and near Beattie Pond, a Class 6 remote pond.
“NRCM is very concerned about statements from the LePage Administration about the NECEC, promising to “push it right through” the permitting process. Maine people deserve a fair, science-based review, not a rush to judgment that benefits two foreign-owned companies.
“CMP has also failed to demonstrate that its proposed contract with Hydro-Québec would not displace existing power supply in Canada, resulting in current hydroelectric power consumers increasing the use of other sources of power, such as coal or natural gas. If Hydro-Québec is simply selling existing hydroelectric power to New England and switching its current customers to fossil-fuel energy sources, there would be no benefit to the climate.”

NRCM called on the Maine Public Utilities Commission, the Land Use Planning Commssion and Maine Department of Environmental Protection “to provide specific facts about the sources of electricity served by this proposed transmission line and the environmental issues and carbon pollution associated with those resources — and about the impacts of the line itself — before making any permitting decisions.”

Editor’s note: This story updates a breaking news story posted on the Mainebiz website shortly after noon on Wednesday, adding additional context and reaction to the original report.

Opponents and advocates make their final arguments on CMP's New England Clean Energy Connect