Peterborough, NH, USA — In New Hampshire a major transmission project that was announced last year is spurring discussion about what should qualify as renewable energy and what the goals of renewable portfolio standards ought to be.? The project, known as The Northern Pass, is set to construct a 140-mile high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line from the Canadian province of Quebec into neighboring New Hampshire.? The line will carry 1200 MW of emission-free electricity from Hydro-Quebec’s hydropower facilities into the state of New Hampshire and through to its neighboring New England states. The issues are, or course, manifold.? First, there are the NIMBY opponents who worry that a large transmission line like this will wreak havoc on property values in northern NH: ruining viewsheds, endangering wildlife and impacting the tourism trade that the region relies upon to boost its economy.? Opponents have created a website that lists all of their concerns with the clever title, “LiveFreeorFry.org.” (The New Hampshire state motto is “Live Free of Die.”) But beyond the transmission line itself, deeper issues are coming to the surface.? First, some say large-scale hydropower, the power source that makes up 98% of Hydro-Quebec’s portfolio, is not a renewable resource.
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Small States Grapple With Big Canadian Hydropower
