trending Market Intelligence /marketintelligence/en/news-insights/trending/u3vklxmojzvxao7-hhdq7g2 content esgSubNav
In This List

NH siting board denies application for Eversource transmission project

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?


NH siting board denies application for Eversource transmission project

The New Hampshire Site Evaluation Committee on Feb. 1 voted unanimously to deny the application for Eversource Energy's proposed Northern Pass transmission line one week after Massachusetts picked the $1.6 billion project as the winning proposal for the supply of emissions-free electricity.

In their vote denying Eversource necessary permits to site and build the 192-mile high-voltage, direct-current line, the seven-member New Hampshire siting panel concluded Eversource had not met its burden in showing Northern Pass would not "unduly interfere with the orderly development of the region." The project notably faced stiff local opposition from landowners and conservationists since being first proposed in 2010, prompting Eversource to alter plans and propose to bury 60 miles of its cables underground along roads so to preserve scenic mountain views.

Eversource spokesman Martin Murray said the future of the project — "the most viable near-term solution to the region’s energy challenges" — is "now in jeopardy."

"We are shocked and outraged," Murray said in a statement. "The process failed to comply with New Hampshire law and did not reflect the substantial evidence on the record. Clearly, the SEC process is broken and this decision sends a chilling message to any energy project contemplating development in the Granite State. We will be seeking reconsideration of the SEC's decision, as well as reviewing all options for moving this critical clean energy project forward."

Eversource's stock took a dive after the siting ruling and closed Feb. 1 at $60.16, down 4.64% in heavy trading.

In contrast, the decision received applause from project opponents, including the pro-renewable Conservation Law Foundation.

"Northern Pass has bullied its way through this process, and today's decision says loud and clear that the people of New Hampshire won't stand for it," foundation attorney Melissa Birchard said. "The committee served us well. It heard the overwhelming opposition of towns and communities, and it rejected Northern Pass's false claims that New Hampshire's properties, tourism industry and treasured resources would be unmarred by this proposal."

The siting committee is due to issue a written decision by March 31. Eversource subsidiary Northern Pass Transmission LLC can request a motion for rehearing before the committee. If the request is denied, the developers could appeal to the state Supreme Court.

"As it stands right now, it's a much easier case to bring to the Supreme Court,” the New Hampshire Union Leader quoted siting committee Chairman Martin Honigberg as saying. "But it does run the risk if there's a reversal having to do a lot of things when they're not fresh in our minds."

In the wake of the siting decision, the Conservation Law Foundation said Massachusetts now has the opportunity "to get this selection right" by choosing another proposal.

In Massachusetts, the awarding of the 20-year contract to Northern Pass is still conditional upon successful contract negotiations and regulatory approval. Massachusetts officials anticipate final project selection for its cleaner energy procurement by April 25. The Northern Pass project would carry up to 1,090 MW of hydroelectric power from Hydro-Québec.

Other transmission and renewable energy projects that bid into the Massachusetts request for proposals include Transmission Developers Inc.'s fully permitted 1,000-MW New England Clean Power Link HVDC project that, if built, would run entirely underground and underwater from the Canadian border through Lake Champlain and the state of Vermont.