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Maine judge upholds referendum results to block Quebec-Massachusetts power line
By adamg on Fri, 12/17/2021 - 2:01pm
The Portland Press-Herald reports, adds the transmission company that wants to build the power line to get Quebec hydro power here could still appeal to that state's equivalent of the Supreme Judicial Court, also called the Supreme Judicial Court (since Maine started out as a part of Massachusetts).
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Comments
We need all this clean energy
I thought states were prohibited from interfering in interstate commerce. For instance, we can't retaliate by taxing all goods passing through our state on the way to Maine. So why is this issue in a state court rather than a federal court? And if this does stand, how can we retaliate?
It's more like MA demanding ME build a road for Bostonians
Maine is just exercising its authority over a new right of way for the Power Line
You might think that they owe us something -- Mainers seem to think differently. After all the vast majority of the electricity passing through Maine is destined for Greater Boston and we apparently couldn't bribe them with enough cash.
It puts the Greenies plan for Wind and Solar -- backed up by Canadian Hydro [since neither Wind nor Solar nor even the combination can form the core of a Reliable Electric Grid] onto the Ash Heap of History.
Time for a Plan B -- until we can get some New or Refurbished Nuclear and before we get Fusion delivering electricity [circa 2035] -- the option is Natural Gas or Natural Gas or perhaps even Natural Gas -- get used to it.
The alternative is California-style 3rd World Blackouts -- except with our climate in the Winter -- more like combining Texas [last February’s extended outage and near grid collapse] with Siberia
Um, so...
Who are you again? And what's with the random capitalization of non-proper nouns?
Who he is
He's our resident nuke proponent, with his arguments from decades ago. I have no idea whether he has any technical expertise to inform his opinions, nor whether he has a vested interest in nuclear power.
he's right though
Solar and Wind alone won't get us there. And ISO New England is already warning of potential rolling blackouts this winter due to the climate regulations
http://indepthnh.org/2021/12/06/new-england-power-grid-on-edge-this-wint...
Right about what?
Not about this:
History is where nukes are headed. the future is renewables, and there is so much power available from solar alone,* and harvesting it is so damn cheap, that spending money on incredibly costly nuclear plants would be insane. Nobody is going to do that.
*
nuclear (or fusion if it ever
nuclear (or fusion if it ever happens) will be part of the future if we want to get to carbon free by 2050, unless some other breakthrough technology happens between now and then. There is plenty of newer nuclear technology (such as used in france and other parts of europe) that makes for safe, reliable energy.
'Dem hillbillies sure showed us!
The love is gone for Maine.
I don't mean Greater Portland, Freeport, York, Bath, Camden, Penobscot Bay.
I'm talking trailer living, huntin', fishin', snowmobilin' Maine. Take a back road from Pittsfield to Belfast sometime. It reminded me of the worst parts of Philly but with trees.
These dentistry challenged people blame others for their problems more than anyone else, and I am the son of Irish immigrants who the Irish as a rule are still mad at the Druids for something like having the family castle taken away in 1153.
I would love to return the favor to Maine and cut off finding for BIW so we don't have to pay for ships we don't need. That would collapse the economy of the Mid-Coast. The last destroyer they built, the Zumwalt cost $7.5 billion and it doesn't work.
You should boycott lobster unless it can be proven that is comes from off Massachusetts. I know some good lobster people on the South Shore get in touch with me. I will get your their info.
Buy your blueberries from somewhere else.
Want to rent a cute AirB'nB up in the mountains? Vermont has them too.
They blame drugs dealers from "Boston and New York (i.e. black people)" for their addiction problems, leaving out that underlying tenet of capitalism that a market needs buyers and sellers.
I do wear LL Bean mocs, but I am kind of done with Vacationland. This corridor will help all of New England but we are held hostage over their anti-Massachusetts sentiment and anti-foreign racism by rural Maine. Screw 'em.
Congratulations
Your absence from the state just made Maine much more appealing to me.
Your characterizations do not ring true to me, but my experience of the particular corridor you mention is non-existent.
Feel free to boycott a state where a democratic process ends up rejecting your preferred outcome.
Why would they want business from a trash-talking crybaby? Instead come up with ideas for solutions that can deal with reality.
How about the first R of the triumvirate: REDUCE
It also happens to be low-hanging fruit.
If you want a picture of the
If you want a picture of the future, imagine an L.L. bean moc, stamping on a human face, forever.
I’m sure there’s no love lost from Mainiacs either.
I haven’t been there in a while but any place you won’t be found running whither nither in your fake moccasins terrorizing lobsters sounds rather delightful right now.
But...
Yet without the support of a goodly portion of the former, the referendum wouldn't have passed. It's southern and coastal Maine that dominates the state these days; that's where the money is.
Yes the north of Maine is
Yes the north of Maine is some of poorest areas of the country.
The referendum was b.s.
The referendum was driven by the fossil fuel industry. They pulled the wool over the eyes of enough Mainers to get it passed. It's a great example of why government by referendum is a stupid idea.
The referendum was also poorly worded. If you were in favor of the power line, you were supposed to vote against the referendum, and vice-versa.
Finally, the result is just an ordinary state law. The legislature can repeal it with a simple majority vote, if enough of its members feel so inclined. I for one urge them to do so posthaste.
You know what's funny...?
New England power supply prices are all pretty similar. Check out "ISO to go" app from the regional grid ISO to watch it in real time.
Each region of New England pretty much goes up and down in unison, almost as if they were all connected! Shocker...
So now that Massachusetts will need to scramble for "clean energy*", I suspect one way will be to simply start bidding more and more, pushing the regional price of "clean energy" upwards.
Perhaps Maine didn't get enough concessions out of the power company, and that might be a PR blunder, no one likes new infrastructure In Their Backyard. But I'm not sure they can stop Massachusetts from simply paying more, a result all of New England will pay for.
I'm not usually a supply sider here, but the real time data from ISO to go is pretty telling. We will need to pay for more expensive energy if we block the cheaper stuff, and Mainers are gonna pay for it too.
*I put "clean energy" in quotes because I both don't fully understand it and but acknowledge there are numerous caveats depending on point of view.