Avangrid, the United States subsidiary of Iberdrola, won a key legal challenge that paves the way for a major transmission project linking Canada to New England. In a decision announced in Maine, a jury approved a negotiated amnesty worth 1,000 million dollars (about 911.4 million euros) for the New England Clean Energy Connect, also known as Necec. This setback marks a turning point for the U.S. component of the cross border plan, allowing continued work on a line intended to move renewable energy from Canada to the broader New England power system.
The transmission corridor stretches from Quebec, Canada, to Lewiston, Maine, and is designed to deliver 1,200 megawatts of renewable hydroelectric power to the New England grid. If fully realized, the project has the potential to meet the electricity needs of more than a million households, according to the latest projections associated with the decision. The project’s promoters maintained that construction proceeded in good faith, despite a state referendum opponent’s efforts to block the scheme. With the court ruling in hand, the supporters can move forward and are already evaluating their next steps in the timeline for completing the line.
Related news centers on the scale and cost of the project. In Maine, residents and the company behind the plan, Avangrid, along with a consortium partner, had already invested a substantial sum in the site and initial construction efforts. The corridor being developed runs over roughly 233 kilometers and is set to ferry electricity generated by Hydro-Quebec, one of Canada’s largest power producers. Earlier, the Maine Supreme Court addressed procedural concerns tied to a referendum, determining that the vote might have conflicted with the construction rights already granted to the developers. The case was returned to a lower court to decide whether Avangrid had accelerated activity with the aim of suppressing the public vote, a factor that could have changed the economic calculus for the project.
The latest ruling on Thursday affirmed a broader legal pathway for the project, even as officials in Maine reserve the right to appeal. The unanimous jury verdict supported previous judicial outcomes that permitted the project to advance legally, even amid ongoing debates and delays linked to changes in state law. Proponents argue the line remains the most effective route to deliver affordable, low-emission power to New England while helping reduce regional carbon emissions. Stakeholders highlight the long-term environmental and economic benefits, including the potential to replace fossil fuels with cleaner hydroelectric energy and to support regional resilience in the electricity grid. Industry observers note that the project could serve as a model for binational energy collaboration and the integration of large-scale renewables into the North American energy system.