FYI: Northern Pass High Voltage Transmission Project

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I noticed the folks at the Balsams seem to be writing more a few letters to the editors trying to convince the SEC into changing their mind

http://www.concordmonitor.com/MyTurn-Ritchie-Northern-Pass-NH_-15483434

https://www.conwaydailysun.com/berl...cle_488940aa-0c2f-11e8-8181-6f8aca3fbce0.html

Curious, I wonder if the they are doing out of the goodness of their heart or possibly is their future employment in jeopardy?

Today's Colebrook Chronicle (2/23) has a bitter editorial from local business owners supporting NP, the majority of which reportedly appear to would have directly benefited from the construction. Included in that list is TR Dillon logging, the timber liquidator that was thrown out of Maine and snapped up the remnants of the former Hancock Insurance (Brown Company) timberland and have clear cut every inch of it. Additionally John Gallus former state Senator and politician for hire (plus a frequent broker of Dillon Lands after they have been stripped). I believe Bear Rock Adventures founder Harry Brown got thrown out of the Ride the Wilds organization for trying to do a back room deal with NP so the NP could write off the useless property assets they bought at inflated prices and in theory buy approval from the ATV crowd http://nhpr.org/post/ride-wilds-discussions-northern-pass-over-multimillion-dollar-donation . And of course the Berlin NH Mayor/Coos County Commissioner/car salesman who is always in for a backroom deal. Definitely a rogues gallery of folks that are not going to sway a lot of minds.
 
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"Thump" goes the other shoe

http://www.unionleader.com/Northern-Pass-wants-another-try

So Eversource is going to explain to the SEC how they didn't follow their own rules. That will go well with the public opposition to the project. The other comment to note is they will continue to develop the project to take advantage of other opportunities if they don't get the Mass deal. Maybe they will finally come to the conclusion that they need to bury it on already established public right of ways?
 
CaptCaper said:
I just came back from a road trip to Wisconsin.. again those lines which are so many are so bad in these towns in was in. One has to see the size of these things up close. In Whitefield the NP would come right across RT 3 and the base station whatever it's called would be enlarged from what it is now. Totally take Whitefield down into the dumps more then it is now. Plus the buzzing on the radios etc.
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We've traveled I-90/94 through Wisconsin a couple times this past year, once enroute hiking and paddling the mountains and lakes north of Superior (Eagle Mtn., MN high point is only 2300' but its elevation above nearby hills affords good views) and again enroute the Super Bowl (which we watched on TV but the festivities leading up to it were great fun), and thought about the Northern Pass project, which had nothing to do with those trips but it gets this post back on topic. Along many miles of the interstate is a major project installing power transmission lines. Curious about this and any underground prospects I researched the project and as far as I can tell it is 180 miles, all above ground. The cost is approx. $600 million. Here is a link to the project website: http://www.atc-projects.com/projects/badger-coulee/

My thoughts about the 345kV overhead aesthetics vs. economics was that in places it was not so obtrusive being alongside an interstate, even though that itself is a major intrusion on the beautiful dairylands and forests of the state, but in some places it detracts from the scenery significantly. The project has a page dedicated to underground prospects and reports that costs are 2.5 - 10 times overhead wire and repair time increased. It does not mention that necessity for repairs might well be reduced in underground transmission. My layman's observation of snaking wires through conduits as well as lining of water supply pipes without digging up the entire street suggests that there is technical feasibility of repairs they are not admitting to. In any case, the rate payers effected by the lines bear the cost of the project and therein lies the tradeoff; aesthetic and sometimes environmental values vs. cost of energy. The analysis does not stop there. There could also be a tradeoff of more significance in the creation of economic activity and jobs as many industries and businesses are still sensitive to the cost of energy. Here's a link to that underground page: http://www.atc-projects.com/learning-center/underground-transmission-lines/

With respect to the Balsams, it is an example of the effect of a power line project on a business but I would think their market would not be as price sensitive as the population in general. I do think that Balsams could do themselves a favor through their own onsite generation with an emphasis on cogeneration and fuel cells. Solar arrays have some limited value in this location and wind turbines offer the same objections as overhead powerlines. I wouldn't be surprised, however, if a series of small hydropower generators might add to the mix of supply.
 
Even if Eversource manages to convince the SEC for a rehearing on the second criteria for approval (the facility will not unduly interfere with the orderly development of the region), and if they even manage to have conditions imposed upon that point, there's still the other criteria that will need to be surmounted:

The facility will not have an unreasonably adverse impact on aesthetics, historic sites, air and water quality, the natural environment, and public health and safety

The facility is in the state’s public interest.

Given what I've seen, these may be some pretty tough hurdles to overcome.
 
This NHPR article has a link to the motion to appeal.

http://nhpr.org/post/eversource-asks-nh-reconsider-northern-pass-denial#stream/0

Looks to me like they forget to include a new kitchen sink as they sure did include everything else. Somewhere in there is a named agreement to avoid construction within 1000 feet of a specific tennis camp while campers are there. I think Bode Millers family is associated with it, which is probably why they included it. Also it appears that ATVs will be banned from the new right of way and its access roads due to wildlife issues, that's going to make a lot of friends in the ATV community :)

It is interesting to note that they finally disclosed the needed upgrades to the Coos Loop, previously they wouldn't reveal the details.

Previously the forward NH fund was pretty well an Eversource administered slush fund used to reward allies of the project, now its independently administered.

I could go on, but my read is most of the things they are offering were things they should have included in the original application. IMHO they tried to pull a quick and dirty initial application, then added the partial burial when they realized the project opposition would go national (Dakota Access east?) and then rolled the dice with the SEC. They got caught and am now trying to do whatever they can to salvage the project except deal with the fundamental objections that the public at large doesn't want to look at the what is essentially a large extension cord running on tall poles for Massachusetts.

Eversource is running a full court press on the appeal, if they could dig up the bodies of dead supporters and prop them up, they probably would ;)Some of the NP PR is that the way to mitigate a project like this is write checks. This was disproven up in the north country as several folks and the Balsams owners elected not to get a big check from NP to buy their land and rather accepted a smaller check to protect the land from development or at least a powerline. Granted NP proposes a third party judge to determine compensation for impacts but the reality is they have already written that fund balance off as cost of doing business. Realistically they have capped this number and every dime will get disbursed, the folks impacted by the project have a choice, either refuse it on principle or hire the best darn lawyer they can to grab whatever they can and hope they get enough cash to sell and move. What happens if the third party decides that the impacts exceeds the funds value? Do they figure out the total and prorate the claims? I expect this could go on for years.
 
It also appears the $300MM they are touting for energy benefits is simply a replacement for the power purchase agreement they originally proposed but was found to violate state law.
 
Bad day for NP, SEC not to rule until May, which is past the deadline that Mass has set to finalize the deal

http://www.unionleader.com/article/20180312/NEWS05/180319838

NP has already paved the way to continue on with the project even though they are out of the running for the Mass clean power RFP so it doesn't kill NP it just takes a sense of urgency out of it.
 
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peakbagger said:
Bad day for NP, SEC not to rule until May, which is past the deadline that Mass has set to finalize the deal

http://www.unionleader.com/article/20180312/NEWS05/180319838

NP has already paved the way to continue on with the project even though they are out of the running for the Mass clean power RFP so it doesn't kill NP it just takes a sense of urgency out of it.
Click to expand...

Here's an article in which Jack Savage of SPNHF says NP is "dead."

Maine's CMP proposal has some issues though, including traverse of the AT and Kennebec Gorge.

Interesting quote from John Carroll, CMP's parent company CEO:

CMP has taken a lesson from the Northern Pass experience, Carroll said. It has met with, and so far gained support, from 95 percent of the communities along the route, according to Carroll. They will share $18 million a year in new tax revenue, he estimated.

The company also has been meeting with rafting companies and other outdoor recreation interests about crossing the Kennebec Gorge. Each year, thousands of people take guided whitewater raft trips through that wild stretch of the Kennebec River, which features 200-foot granite cliffs. Drilling under the river to avoid stringing power lines over the gorge would add tens of millions of dollars to the project cost.

CMP also has a plan for minimizing the impact of crossing the Appalachian Trail, Carroll said.

cb
 
Eversource did the pivot yesterday to not needing the Mass deal. They are correct in that the market for power in New England especially "renewable" would gladly take the capacity of the NP line in addition to the CMP line. It just changes the project back to being a merchant project.

277 million and counting, they are going to run this as long as they can as the stockholder will not look kindly at management if they have to take a write off. I expect they hope they can wait out the opposition as their pockets are far deeper.

I had started the other thread on the Maine project. I really don't see significant organized opposition popping up in Maine. The opposition groups in Maine have been battered by dealing with the governor for several years and they have to chose their battles. I don't see ATC or MATC putting up major opposition. American Rivers might make an appearance for the Kennebec river gorge impact but IMO its nothing that a few checks for mitigation wont solve. The difference is in NH NP was arrogant and upset some high profile landowners that went into the "take no prisoners" mode.
 
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CT resident here.

Without anything specific to back it up, I'm still going to say that I think that CT is mostly very happy to take power from wherever it can get it, including NP should it ever get built.

One other thing - Originally, NP was a joint project between NU and NStar which merged to form Eversource. The merger propaganda stated that it was while working jointly on NP that the management of each company determined that they worked well together and that a merger of the two companies might be profitable. Are the merger synergies worth the sunk costs of NP should it never be built? It helps, but I think that would be a tough sell...


TomK
 
Np rip

TomK said:
CT resident here.

Without anything specific to back it up, I'm still going to say that I think that CT is mostly very happy to take power from wherever it can get it, including NP should it ever get built.
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Article about final 256-page report of NH SEC is here.

Typical excerpt...

“There are places along the route where the project would have a substantially different effect on the neighborhood than does the existing transmission facilities,” the decision said.

“In many of the smaller rural communities along the route, transmission towers that currently sit below the tree canopy would be augmented by towers that range from 80 to 140 feet tall,” the committee said.

Project officials have said the project would deliver tens of millions of dollars in yearly property taxes as well as more than $60 million a year in energy savings for New Hampshire.

“While benefits to the economy and employment would be positive, we cannot find they would be as large as the applicant predicts,” the committee said.

It also called a Northern Pass expert’s estimates on the number of new jobs created after construction “overinflated.”
 
It appears to me that NP as currently designed is effectively dead. The only way it would go in as envisioned is a wholesale political/regulatory shift in the state permitting process. The other "black swan" would be that the federal government somehow steps in and declares it a critical infrastructure project. Regulations were put in place a few administrators ago but believe that its not as "clean" a process as originally envisioned. That could be an issue in the next few years given southern New England looming major power deficit. The region just squeaked by rolling brown outs or even black outs during the cold snap in February and every indication is it will be happening with higher frequency over the next few years. Even with that looming, the reality is the Lake Champlain project is already permitted and far less controversial. The proposed Avangrid line in Western Maine looks like it will fly which will chip away at the power supply deficit. The NGRID proposal to run a parallel HVDC line next to the existing one also appears to be a less controversial project as unlike NP the new HVDC towers are not going to be any taller then the existing ones.

The name NP has acquired a lot of negative baggage over the course of project. I don't see the value in keeping the name for a substantially revised project. Of course they could just keep it a legal name and rebrand it much as Eversource has rebranded PSNH (which is technically still the name for the Eversource owned electric power utility in NH). I expect the PR push would be bring in new project management and tell the general public that "this time things will be different". The I89/I93 alignment installing it in the side of the highway right of ways sounds good but the reality is Franconia Notch is a hard barrier and I cant envision any way a cable is getting installed through the notch technically or politically. Even if it was, there are several stretches of the I93 where the highway is stepped into the side of the mountains with steep drops off to the side so the project would mostly likely need to shift over the existing transmission right of way that runs up an over the steep terrain to the east of this stretch.
 
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Its back, clawing up through the dirt and out of the grave

http://indepthnh.org/2018/08/10/northern-pass-appeals-saying-vague-criteria-used-to-deny-project/

https://forestsociety.org/news-article/northern-pass-plans-appeal-supreme-court.

The VT governor has been pushing the underwater Lake Champlain line as an alternative to the proposed line through Maine (which replaced Northern Pass). The Maine project has building opposition and large financial incentives are being discussed to "buy" support. The Vt governors contention is why go with unpermitted projects when the Vt project is permitted and ready to go?. With the planned closure of Pilgrim Nuclear Power plant and natural gas line constraints during cold weather, the potential for electrical brown outs in the region increases which is going to drive a larger demand for Hydro Quebec power.

Of course the 1 year plus delay means the capital in progress charges do not hit Eversource books until 2020 at the earliest so the management can make their retirement plans or figure out a way to sell the company.
 
The Saturday Conway Daily Sun has an editorial from Les Otten supporting the Northern Pass appeal.

https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.tow...-11e7-97a4-6be1adaf4869/5b774aefd82c1.pdf.pdf

Interesting coincidence that the a key part of the first phase of the Balsams project was Northern Pass and that Les Otten had to admit under oath at the SEC hearings that the prior funding received from NP came with strings attached to support the NP project. Interesting that the Balsams project which was supposed to break ground in April of this year conditional on a state loan guarantee but has indefinitely delayed the attempt to get this guarantee. Why do I suspect that the project is on permanent hold pending the final resolution of NP?

Incidentally the federal government receiver for Jay Peak announced they plan to sell the resort this summer. I expect the results of the sale of Jay will impact the Balsams project, a firesale will not bode well.
 
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