A stalled transmission line project that Maine voters tried to kill in 2021 has been brought back to life by a state court. The ruling gives climate-conscious state governments across New England a fresh chance to significantly decarbonize the region’s electrical grid, which is sustained by oil and natural gas.

Near the end of last month a jury unanimously ruled that the so-called New England Clean Energy Connect project could move forward after being stalled for more than a year, ending a legal limbo that began when Maine voters rejected the project in a 2021 referendum. 

The $ 1 billion project would deliver around 1,200 megawatts of power from hydroelectric dams in Quebec to the New England states, satisfying around 8 percent of typical demand on the region’s grid. The project has been progressing in fits and starts since 2018, …

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