A controversial $1-billion electric transmission corridor that would channel Quebec hydroelectric power into the New England grid and beyond won a key legal victory May 13.
A federal appeals court lifted a temporary injunction sought by environmental groups and other opponents to halt the start of construction on a 53-mile segment of the line that runs across rural western Maine from the Canadian border to Lewiston, where it would connect with the regional grid.
现在，在其开发商Central Maine Power拥有的现有走廊中建造了145英里新英格兰清洁能源连接项目的其余部分。
波士顿上诉法院驳回了塞拉俱乐部，缅因州自然资源委员会和其他团体的禁令，这些要求起诉美国陆军工程兵团批准属于其职权范围的项目的一部分。
The court ruled project opponents had failed to prove that their case is likely to succeed, the key determinant for a permanent injunction. A federal district court judge in Maine also rejected the project-halt request but will rule on a case against the Corps and U.S. Energy Dept. for failing to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act.
新英格兰清洁能源Connect总裁Thorn Dickinson说：“既然已经解除了一部分的禁令，缅因州的工人正在组织，并向他们的任务报告以开始建造的下一阶段。。
该项目由马萨诸塞州公用事业及其纳税人资助。像其他州一样，马萨诸塞州正在争先恐后地实现新的目标，以减少碳排放并将其网格转化为清洁能源。
迪金森说，现在沿着计划中的传输走廊现场大约有470名工人，该项目预计该项目每年最多雇用1,600名，因为它逐渐升起，定于2023年春季。。
Major project contractors are Northern Clearing, Irby, Cianbro and Sargent Electric. Under conditions of the project’s permit, crews will have to start cutting trees in July and August to avoid disrupting newborn bats who live in the forest and are just learning to fly.
Opponents Press Their Case
Opponents vowed to appeal the decision. “We are very disappointed in the appeals court’s ruling on the preliminary injunction, but we will continue to pursue our case,” said Colin Durrant, a spokesperson for Maine Natural Resources Council.
The groups are challenging the Corps' decision to grant permits to fill in wetlands on acreage under its authority and to build a tunnel for the transmission corridor under the Kennebec River. They contend the Corps should have evaluated the environmental impact of the entire 145-mile-long transmission corridor project, not just the pieces directly under its control.
Opponents must show that the Corps not only erred in its narrower environmental review but also that the decision was "arbitrary, capricious and an abuse of discretion,” the appeals court said, providing some support for the agency’s reasons for not undertaking a project-wide review based on a definition of its limited permitting jurisdiction.
该项目还面临着一个公投问题appears likely to be added to Maine’s statewide November ballot, with election officials signaling that enough signatures have been collected. The question would give the legislature power of approval over such transmission corridors.
The Maine Supreme Judicial Court last year struck down as unconstitutional an earlier version of the referendum that would have been a simple yes or no vote on the project.
Sophie Brochu, president and CEO of Hydro-Québec, which hopes to pump hydropower into the New England grid and beyond, has accused competing oil and natural gas industry interests of helping bankroll efforts to get the anti-transmission corridor referendum on the Maine ballot. But the company also has been challenged by some Maine legislators for its own spending to build public support for the transmission corridor.
Heading South
同时，魁北克水电的眼睛增加了南方的作品。本月早些时候提交的一项提案将建立一条传输线，将电力运送到纽约市。该公司提出了一项提案，向合作伙伴传输开发人员公司（Parthermant Development Inc.）提供了一项可再生能源1,250兆瓦的纽约市，以前经营天然气分销商Énergir。
该公司计划开发尚普兰·哈德森（Champlain Hudson）Power Express，这是一条估计为22亿美元的输电线路，该线路将连接Hydro-Québec水力发电设施，并可能包括纽约州能源研究和开发局（响应纽约州能源研究和开发局（Nyserda）采购。
They said in a statement that the transmission line is the only project permitted and able to begin construction in 2021 and start operation by 2025. The transmission line would be all underground or under water, originating in southern Québec, routed under Lake Champlain and the Hudson and Harlem rivers to a substation in Astoria, Queens.
该产品线将使用工会劳工建造，并致力于从当地劳动力招聘，并扩大了针对弱势社区的招聘和培训，以及在化石燃料部门雇用的社区。
宣布参与的另一位开发商是Rise Light and Power，这是一家位于纽约州皇后区的公司，该公司提议Catskills Reenwable Connector，该连接器将通过一条进入Albany南部的Hudson River的输电线路将北部太阳能和风能运送到城市。
Also proposing is Spanish energy developer Avangrid, which owns New York State Electric and Gas and Central Maine Power. It seeks to use state Dept. of Transportation rights of way for its buried line, noting it will not be routed through the river, which has raised environmental group concerns.
NYSERDA has not identified the list of all potential bidders, but the Albany Times-Union said there are 14.
