Maine supreme court breathes new life into power project

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine's highest court on Tuesday breathed new life into a $1 billion transmission line that aims to serve as conduit for Canadian hydropower, ruling that a statewide vote rebuking the project was unconstitutional.

The Supreme Judicial Court ruled that the retroactive nature of the referendum last year violated the project developer's constitutional rights, sending it back to a lower court for further proceedings.

The court did not rule in a separate case that focuses on a lease for a 1-mile portion of the proposed power line that crosses state land.

Central Maine Power’s parent company and Hydro Quebec teamed up on the project that would supply up to 1,200 megawatts of Canadian hydropower. That’s enough electricity for 1 million homes.

Most of the proposed 145-mile (233-kilometer) power transmission line would be built along existing corridors, but a new 53-mile (85-kilometer) section was needed to reach the Canadian border.

Workers were already clearing trees and setting poles when the governor asked for work to be suspended after the referendum. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection later suspended its permit but that could be reversed depending on the outcome of legal proceedings.

The high court was asked to weigh in on two separate lawsuits. Developers sought to declare the November 2021 referendum unconstitutional while another lawsuit focused on a lease allowing transmission lines to cross a short segment of state-owned land.

Supporters say bold projects such as this one, funded by ratepayers in Massachusetts, are necessary to battle climate change and introduce additional electricity into a region that’s heavily reliant on natural gas, which can cause spikes in energy costs.

Critics say the project's environmental benefits are...