New Hampshire’s Communities Put at Risk
Eversource wanted to build one of the largest electric transmission projects in New Hampshire’s history – a 192-mile line to deliver into New England 1,090 megawatts of electricity from Hydro-Québec’s hydropower facilities in Canada. The proposed project would have profoundly affected our landscapes and local communities.
CLF in Action
CLF works to ensure that clean energy projects across New England do the most good and least harm for our climate and our communities.
The Northern Pass project failed to meet this test. Large-scale hydropower can play an important role in cutting our climate-damaging emissions, but the project would have spoiled some of New Hampshire’s most scenic and sensitive areas. Towns along the proposed route overwhelmingly opposed the project, and Eversource refused to address their concerns. Eversource also failed to show that the transmission line wouldn’t harm the state’s economy.
CLF opposed Northern Pass every step of the way, and in 2018 the New Hampshire Site Evaluation Committee formally rejected Eversource’s permit application. The company then appealed to the state Supreme Court. But the Court upheld the permit rejection, shutting down the Northern Pass project for good.
What’s at Stake
The Northern Pass project, as proposed, would have traveled 192 miles from the Canadian border to Deerfield, New Hampshire. While project modifications to the original plan would have avoided above-ground towers in the White Mountain National Forest, the project would have significantly impacted many landscapes and communities along its lengthy path.
