Maine’s highest court on Tuesday ruled that a referendum blocking the New England Clean Energy Connect (NECEC) transmission line may have been unconstitutional, reigniting hopes that the fiercely opposed project could get built after all.
In a 39-page ruling, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court found that part of the ballot question could be invalid because it retroactively applies new laws to the certificate of public convenience and necessity obtained by the project’s developer Avangrid (NYSE:AGR) and its subsidiary Central Maine Power.
It sent the case back to the Maine Business and Consumer Court for “further proceedings consistent with this opinion.”
The ruling is the latest twist in a consequential saga that some clean energy advocates say will shape the future of New England and determine how quickly the region can wean itself off fossil fuels. The line, which would bring energy from hydropower plants in Quebec into New England and is central to Massachusetts’ clean energy plans, has been at the center of legal and political battles for years.
It received a signoff from the federal government in early 2021, only to be shot down by Maine voters in a referendum later that year in which 59% voted to ban the construction of “high-impact” transmission lines in the area and require approval from the legislature for future such projects.
The constitutionality of that ballot initiative has been the last-gasp hope of the project’s developers, and Maine’s highest court came to their aid on Tuesday.
“Our analysis and conclusions are not based on the wisdom of either the project or the [ballot] initiative,” the five-judge panel wrote. But the initiative would “infringe on NECEC’s constitutionally protected vested rights” if the project can show that it engaged in “substantial construction” on the authority granted by the certificate it was granted before the initiative was approved by Maine voters.
ClearView Energy Partners called the ruling a “significant win” for NECEC, but it noted that there are other risks pending.
“We view today’s opinion as constructive to CMP’s plans to complete the project, but the project developer has not yet overcome all its legal challenges,” ClearView’s analysts said.
Those include a separate case about a lease from the Bureau of Parks and Lands, a suspended permit from the Maine Department of Environmental Quality, and judicial challenges to two federal permits by environmental groups.
But those remaining challenges didn’t stop Avangrid from breathing a sigh of relief.
“This unanimous decision by the law court is a victory for clean energy expansion, transmission development and decarbonization efforts in Maine, New England and across the country,” Avangrid said in a statement.
The company said the project has faced opposition from fossil fuel-fired generators at every step.
“It is time to move away from the status quo fossil fuel companies who will undoubtedly continue their fight to maintain a stranglehold on the New England energy market,” Avangrid said. “These companies have fought this clean energy project in every legal manner possible, filing challenge after challenge in a desperate effort to hold onto their share of the market. Maine’s highest court has rejected their latest challenge as unconstitutional.”
The ruling was also celebrated by the transmission trade group WIRES.
“Today’s decision by the Maine Supreme Court will hopefully set the important NECEC project back on track, although with likely further delays,” WIRES Executive Director Larry Gasteiger said, calling the project a “poster child for how difficult it is to get needed transmission built.”