With the Northern Pass “new route” drama entering its third year (Northeast Utilities executives once again failed to announce any progress on last week’s investor conference call), it’s important to remember that all we’ve been talking about is the northernmost forty miles of what is a 180-mile project that stretches from the Canadian border to…
May 8
2013
2013
Apr 26
2013
2013
A Message to the Energy Industry: The Demise of Northern Pass 1.0
Earlier this week, I brought a message from New Hampshire to a gathering of major players in the Northeast’s energy industry in lower Manhattan, the Platt’s Northeast Energy Markets Conference. Remember Northern Pass, that novel Northeast Utilities transmission project that would import 1,200 megawatts of large-scale hydropower from Hydro-Québec? The project, as it was conceived…
Apr 2
2013
2013
Northeast Utilities Still Can’t Reveal “New Route” for Northern Pass
Northeast Utilities (NU) tells investors and the public that it is will announce a new northernmost route for its Northern Pass transmission project by a certain date. The date arrives. A “project update” appears on the website of NU subsidiary and project developer Northern Pass Transmission LLC, saying that it isn’t ready to announce the…
Jan 3
2013
2013
Another Blown Deadline: For Now, No “New Route” for Northern Pass
The ball and other ceremonial objects have dropped, and 2013 has arrived. Although we mark the turn of the year with champagne, Auld Lang Syne, and a bevy of news stories and year-end blog posts, there’s not much genuinely “new” about the New Year. We hang a new calendar and start writing 2013 on legal…
Dec 28
2012
2012
The Latest on Northern Pass: A Year-End Roundup
As CLF begins a third year of advocacy on the Northern Pass project, some updates are in order: The “New Route” Drama With 2013 only days away, it is looking more and more likely that Northern Pass Transmission LLC (NPT) will not have secured 100% of a “new route” for the project’s northernmost portion by year…
Nov 15
2012
2012
Getting Desperate: Northeast Utilities CEO Falsely Claims Wide Support for Northern Pass
This week, the developer of the Northern Pass transmission project, Northeast Utilities (NU), sunk to a new low. In a presentation at a utility industry conference, NU CEO Tom May stated that: “[T]his project has the support of every environmental group in New England basically.” This is unequivocally untrue. In fact, CLF is not aware…
Oct 25
2012
2012
Update: Support Grows for CLF’s Fight to Secure a Fair Review of Northern Pass
Two weeks ago, CLF exposed and brought to the public’s attention internal government documents showing that the Department of Energy (DOE) has illegally allowed the developer of the Northern Pass transmission project, Northern Pass Transmission LLC (NPT) to have significant and improper influence over the ongoing permitting process and environmental review of the project. After…
Oct 12
2012
2012
DOE and NPT Don’t Get It: the Public Deserves an Unbiased Review of Northern Pass
Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and Northern Pass Transmission LLC (NPT) reacted in the media (here and here) to news stories reporting that the federal review of the Northern Pass project has been tainted by DOE’s abdication of critical responsibilities to the project developer and permit applicant, NPT. It is frustrating, but not…
Oct 11
2012
2012
Its Objectivity and Integrity Again in Question, the Federal Review of Northern Pass Comes to a New Crossroads
The new revelations of unfairness and bias in the federal environmental review of Northern Pass have struck a chord, garnering front-page coverage in the Union Leader and a story on New Hampshire Public Radio. You can join our fight for a fair review of Northern Pass. We have made it easy for you to take action and…
Oct 10
2012
2012
Newly Disclosed Evidence of NPT Influence Taints Federal Review of Northern Pass
A year ago, CLF asked the Department of Energy (DOE) for documents regarding its environmental review of Northern Pass – the major power-line project proposed by Northern Pass Transmission LLC, or “NPT.” We fought for an open, rigorous, and impartial permitting process that would independently scrutinize all elements of the Northern Pass proposal. We wanted to be sure that’s what New Hampshire and the region would be getting from DOE and its new contractor team, which is charged with preparing the ever-crucial environmental impact statement or “EIS” – the document that analyzes the proposed project, all reasonable alternatives, and all related environmental and socio-economic impacts.