Sad to see that such significant regional history is being forgotten..
Well, I didn't live here then, I lived in CA at the time, so it wasn't "forgotten".
You stated that the project was moved to Maine:
"Luckily unlike Maine, NH had a functional statewide process for dealing with large projects, left over from a large oil refinery project and higher visibility and this project got moved to Maine. It far more out of sight and out of mind to the typical outdoor enthusiast than NH and thus the title of the thread "Should we care?" "
So, that is why I asked where the refinery is in Maine.
Perhaps you are thinking of this proposed refinery in ME, which was also defeated. About 10 years later.
https://www.nrcm.org/nrcm-success-stories/pittston-oil-refinery/
And, according to the history I read online, that project in NH was largely stopped due to the efforts of three women:
https://granitegeek.concordmonitor.com/2018/03/06/oil-refinery-almost-built-new-hampshire-seacoast/
And it looks like the "process" that NH used, at least initially, was state sanctioned NIMBY.
I'm not saying I'm in favor of any of these projects. As far as I am concerned, MA residents should build their own power plants, nuclear of course.