Rejection of Northern Pass Transmission Line Sets Back Growth 50 Years, Northern New Hampshire Mayor Says

Paul Grenier, mayor of Berlin, a small northern New Hampshire city reeling from the closure of paper mills, says the state's Site Evaluation Committee's decision to deny a proposal for a $1.6 billion transmission line by Hydro-Quebec crushes economic development efforts in the area. "This sends a very chilling message to anyone working to bring economic development to the North Country," the mayor told The Conway Daily Sun.

The state committee rejected the application 7-0 on February 1, saying the project would have too much of a detrimental impact on land. Eversource New Hampshire, the applicant, has spent $249 million already on the project, which is supposed to bring electricity to New England; the company expressed shock and outrage last week, and did not rule out a court challenge, according to The Union Leader.