trending Market Intelligence /marketintelligence/en/news-insights/trending/shqxlrpzp2bfnhak2rgr0w2 content esgSubNav
In This List

Massachusetts asked to reconsider clean energy bids after Northern Pass ruling

Podcast

Next in Tech | Episode 49: Carbon reduction in cloud

Blog

Using ESG Analysis to Support a Sustainable Future

Research

US utility commissioners: Who they are and how they impact regulation

Blog

Q&A: Datacenters: Energy Hogs or Sustainability Helpers?


Massachusetts asked to reconsider clean energy bids after Northern Pass ruling

Renewable advocates, transmission developers and others are calling for Massachusetts' clean energy procurement committee to pick another winning bid after New Hampshire officials unanimously denied Eversource Energy the permits it needs to build its proposed Northern Pass transmission line.

The New Hampshire Site Evaluation Committee's Feb. 1 decision to deny Eversource's application came a week after Massachusetts picked the $1.6 billion, 192-mile-long, high-voltage, direct current line as the sole winner out of more than 45 bids vying for a 20-year contract. The proposed underground and above-ground power line was aimed at cutting greenhouse gas emissions by importing up to 1,090 MW of Canadian hydroelectric power from Hydro-Québec into ISO New England's regional market.

Eversource's stock plunged after the siting ruling, closing Feb. 1 at $60.16, down 4.64% in heavy trading. Williams Capital Group analysts said the damage in shares was "overdone" and "unwarranted," given Eversource's prospective growth nearing industry average, albeit at a reduced 5.1% instead of 6.0%.

Williams Capital Group reiterated its buy investment rating and said the absence of Northern Pass will strengthen the company's balance sheet and potentially boost significant free cash flow over the next few years. The research note said Eversource might pursue legal challenges to the siting decision, although it acknowledged that the unanimity of the vote makes imagining a different result difficult.

A research note by Wells Fargo Securities LLC similarly was not optimistic that Eversource can do anything to overturn the decision. Wells Fargo also said the decision serves as another reminder of how complicated developing large infrastructure projects can be, even when the economic and environmental benefits are clear and with the backing of former New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu.

In the wake of the ruling, RENEW Northeast urged Massachusetts in an online post to reconsider other bids from more than 7,000 MW of wind and solar projects that submitted proposals alongside other transmission projects to import hydropower. The advocacy group asserted that developing new, intermittent renewables would be cheaper than importing "old generation" in the form of Canadian hydropower.

The call to reconsider a runner-up bid found support in an editorial by Boston Globe reporter Jon Chesto. "We don't know yet whether the Massachusetts selection committee — a group that included reps from Eversource and National Grid — had a runner-up," said Chesto. "If not, it might be time to come up with one."

New Hampshire's Consumer Advocate D. Maurice Kreis, who is "agnostic" on Northern Pass, took to Twitter to say the difficulties that Eversource experienced in getting permission "will hopefully point the company in the direction of relying more on small-scale, local solutions as alternatives to big transmission projects." Kreis also stressed that the siting decision "is not the end of the struggle over big energy projects in New England."

Mike Skelton, president and CEO of the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, reacted on Twitter that the siting decision will have a "chilling effect" on energy infrastructure development in the Granite State and its economy.

With New England facing upcoming retirements of coal and nuclear plants amid a growing dependency on strained natural gas supplies to keep the lights on in the winter, Skelton warned that the region's energy challenges are not going away and will only worsen. "We are now left with the prospect of wondering whether our state approval process is capable of allowing potential solutions to move forward," Skelton said.

Massachusetts officials anticipate final project selection for the state's cleaner energy procurement by April 25.