Karn DhingraA proposed electric transmission line project to send power from Canada to New England through Vermont and New Hampshire has been canceled.
London-based National Grid’s 211-mile, $2 billion Twin State Clean Energy Link was among three nationwide projects selected by the U.S. Department of Energy to share $1.3 billion this past fall.
The project was the only one east of the Mississippi River approved by the DOE, the other two are located in Utah, Nevada New Mexico and Arizona.
National Grid’s anticipated underground transmission line connecting northern Vermont to New Hampshire would have delivered Canadian wind and solar power to the region, while renewable energy produced from future offshore wind farms or other sources from New England would be sent to Quebec.
“We are grateful for the selection of the Twin States Clean Energy Link by the U.S. Department of Energy through their Transmission Facilitation Program (TFP). Unfortunately, National Grid has determined that the project is not viable at this time,” National Grid’s director of U.S. corporate affairs Mary-Leah Messenger said in a statement to Government Market News.
Messenger declined to give specific reasons for why the company could not move forward with the project but said the company would pursue other paths to build up power transmission capacity in the region. National Grid provides power to more than 20 million people throughout New York and Massachusetts.
In the U.S., National Grid operates in New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont. The company’s American subsidiary has two major business lines with gas and electric power distribution.
“National Grid thanks the dozens of route communities and regional partners who engaged with us and supported this project,” Messenger said. “We will continue to pursue paths to building much-needed transmission capacity for the region and for our customers and communities.”
National Grid’s cancellation of the project came as a surprise to New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu.
“As an early supporter of this project, I am disappointed that National Grid has chosen to not move forward with the Twin State project,” Sununu said in a statement to press. “New Hampshire will continue to prioritize an all-of-the-above approach to energy resources to ensure the reliability of our grid and protect Granite State ratepayers.”
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