Avangrid just beat the final boss in Maine, securing the last permit needed to turn on a massive transmission line that voters explicitly tried to kill. (ABC News)
The milestone: The New England Clean Energy Connect (NECEC)—which will pipe 1,200 MW of Canadian hydropower down to Massachusetts—is now cleared to finish testing in December, capping years of legal warfare.
It’s a stark lesson in “vested rights.” Maine voters rejected the line in a 2021 referendum to protect woodlands, but a jury later ruled that because construction had already started, the state couldn't legally pull the rug out from under the developers.
While the lights will go on, the bad blood remains: Local advocates warn that overriding the popular vote has created “lingering resentment” against the utility, Central Maine Power, that could make siting the next big project even harder.