The $250-300 million converter station off outer Main Street in Lewiston looks much the same Thursday afternoon as it did over a year ago when the New England Clean Energy Connect project was shut down. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal
LEWISTON — It didn’t take long for word to spread around City Hall that the jury in the CMP powerline project case had rendered its decision.
A jury ruled Thursday that CMP affiliate New England Clean Energy Connect powerline project could move forward.
“The city of Lewiston is pleased with this outcome,” Angelene Amores, the city’s director of marketing and communications, said. “It will offer Lewiston tax relief to residents while offering great flexibility for operating future budgets for the city and our schools.”
The NECAC transmission line project includes a $250-$300 million converter station at 1651-1653 Main St. and 183 Merrill Road Rear in Lewiston. It will convert and transmit hydropower from Canada to southern New England.
The project and associated infrastructure upgrades are expected to bring up to $7 million in annual property tax revenue to the city. Work on the site was halted shortly after a 2021 citizen referendum against the project was approved by voters statewide.
The city received its first property tax payment in the fall of 2021 for $1.55 million.
Transmission towers, background, and support structures, foreground, sit Thursday in a field off Route 202 in Greene. They have been there since the New England Clean Energy Connect project was shut down in late 2021. Russ Dillingham/Sun JournalLewiston has been steadfast in its support of the controversial project, even as other municipalities retracted theirs. In September 2021, the City Council passed a resolution of “strong support” for the project.
Aerial images of the converter station taken Thursday look much the same as those taken by the Sun Journal in October 2021, just before the state issued a stop-work order on the entire project.
The converter station is described in documents submitted to the city Planning Board as a 6.5-acre site with four buildings. The project yard will be secured with an 8-foot-tall chain-link fence with lighting around the perimeter.
The Maine Department of Environmental Protection said it will now review whether the court ruling affects its decision to issue its stop work order.
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