News release from Natural Resources Council of Maine, Appalachian Mountain Club, and Sierra Club Maine November 12, 2020 (Augusta, ME) — Three conservation groups have asked a federal judge to halt Central Maine Power’s (CMP) premature plans to begin construction on its controversial transmission line. The Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC), Natural Resources Council of Maine Read More
CMP Transmission Line Proposal: A Bad Deal for Maine
Central Maine Power (CMP) is proposing to build a 145-mile, high-voltage, direct current transmission line from the Quebec-Maine border to an interconnection with the existing New England grid in Lewiston. About 53 miles of the CMP transmission line route would create a brand new transmission corridor; requiring clearing of a large, currently undisturbed, swath of Maine’s North Woods.
The Natural Resources Council of Maine opposes the CMP corridor because it would harm Maine forests and wildlife, suppress Maine's renewable energy industry, and could actually increase climate change emissions, all without any clear benefit to Maine or Massachusetts.
Under its proposal, CMP would expand the other 92 miles of transmission line, requiring clearing more vegetation and undertaking additional development within existing corridors. The proposed CMP transmission line includes above-ground transmission lines across the Kennebec River Gorge, the Appalachian Trail, 263 wetlands, 115 streams, 12 inland waterfowl and wading bird habitat areas, and near Beattie Pond, a Class 6 remote pond.
Environmental Groups File Lawsuit Challenging Army Corps for Indefensible CMP Corridor Analysis
News release from Natural Resources Council of Maine, Appalachian Mountain Club, and Sierra Club Maine Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC), the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM), and Sierra Club Maine are challenging the Army Corps for failure to rigorously assess impacts of the controversial transmission corridor on Western Maine. The Corps’ inadequate assessment was completed Read More
US Army Corps & Dept. of Energy Identify Major Issues with CMP Corridor
Agencies call out lack of evidence on climate claims even as they coach CMP how to write its own Environmental Assessment August 13, 2020 (Augusta, ME) – A new document obtained under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) shows that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) have Read More
Hydro-Quebec Dramatically Escalates Campaign to Influence Maine Elections
NRCM Urges Lawmakers to Close Loophole in Election Laws Exploited by HQ NRCM news release July 30, 2020 (Augusta, ME) – Over the past six months, the foreign government-owned corporation Hydro-Quebec has dramatically escalated its political campaign to interfere with the citizen-initiated referendum to block Central Maine Power’s (CMP) controversial corridor proposal. A new analysis Read More
Explainer: Why the CMP Corridor is a Bad Deal for Maine and the Climate
Central Maine Power’s (CMP) proposed transmission corridor through Western Maine is a bad deal for the North Woods, it’s a bad deal for our climate, and it’s a bad deal for our clean energy future. We want to tell you why. CMP and Hydro-Quebec (HQ) are mounting an aggressive and expensive political campaign using terms Read More
CMP & Hydro-Quebec Have Spent Record-breaking $16.78M on Campaign for the CMP Corridor
Spending hits $61,915 per day over the past 271 days NRCM news release July 7, 2020 (Augusta, ME) — Central Maine Power (CMP) has now spent $10.53 million and Hydro-Quebec $6.24 million on an unprecedented campaign to salvage their controversial 145-mile transmission line proposal that would deliver electricity from Quebec to Massachusetts by cutting through Read More
Citing Irreparable Harm to Maine’s Environment, NRCM Appeals DEP Permit for CMP Corridor
News release June 10, 2020 (Augusta, ME) – Maine’s leading environmental advocacy group, the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM), today filed an appeal of the Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) permit for Central Maine Power’s (CMP) controversial transmission corridor. NRCM called the permit fundamentally flawed and contrary to the interests of Maine people because the Read More
NRCM Statement on DEP Permit for Controversial CMP Corridor Proposal
News release May 11, 2020 (Augusta, ME) – The Natural Resources Council of Maine today issued the following statement from Clean Energy Staff Attorney Sue Ely in response to the decision by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to issue a final permit for the controversial Central Maine Power (CMP) transmission line: “Today’s DEP permit Read More
CMP and Hydro-Quebec Have Spent an Astounding $9 Million on Desperate Campaign to Save CMP Corridor
Latest ethics filing shows CMP spent $5M in first 3 months of 2020 NRCM news release April 13, 2020 (Augusta, ME) — Central Maine Power (CMP) spent $5.045 million in the first three months of 2020 and a total of $7.23 million since October 2019 on its desperate campaign to protect massive future profits from Read More
