After years of political and legal setbacks, a new power corridor through western Maine has received the final permit needed to get the project online by its goal of December 2025.
When Maine regulators first approved the New England Clean Energy Connect corridor that will carry hydropower from Quebec into Massachusetts, conservationists won a key concession from the project: developers were required to permanently conserve 50,000 acres in the area of the corridor.
On Wednesday, Central Maine Power parent company Avangrid received the final approval it needed from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection to conserve that area of the Maine wilderness.
This means that, once testing and commissioning is done, the power corridor could be online by the end of the year.
The $1.5 billion power line is designed to help Massachusetts meet its climate goals. The project was rejected by Maine voters in a 2021 referendum but revived by a state court in 2023. The most controversial aspect is known as Segment 1, which cuts through the Maine woods for 53 miles from the Quebec border west of Jackman to The Forks along the Kennebec River.
To mitigate the habitat fragmentation caused by the power line, state regulators wanted the 50,000 acres of permanently conserved lands to be in blocks of 5,000 acres or more, or be adjacent to existing conservation land.
The developers submitted a conservation plan in November 2021, but the Maine Department of Environmental Protection found it insufficiently detailed. After years of negotiations, the final conservation plan easement was considered for revision on Oct. 7, and adjustments were approved Wednesday.
Once it is online, Avangrid said that the corridor will be New England’s largest source of renewable energy, connecting to 1.2 gigawatts of hydroelectric power from Quebec.
Murray Carpenter, special to the BDN, and Maine Public reporter Peter McGuire contributed to this report.