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Protecting woodlands is important but cutting through woodlands for transmission lines shouldn't be a big deal. Hydro is pretty clean power so it seems silly no
by CircleSpokes 5y ago
Protecting woodlands is important but cutting through woodlands for transmission lines shouldn't be a big deal. Hydro is pretty clean power so it seems silly not to bring more of that in. Plus they have already cut most of it..
"More than three-quarters of the corridor has already been cleared, with about 100 poles installed, Avangrid said last week."
- subpixel 5y agoArguments were effectively made that it’s not all hydro power - it’s a connection to the grid not a single source of energy. But in the end this was doomed by the route. If it were economically possible to go around the north woods it would have had little opposition.
- SonicScrub 5y agoWhich is a nonsense argument as easily seen by a single google search of Hydro-Quebec's energy sources.
- throwawaycuriou 5y agoThe 'greenwashing' risk is real. They may provide their electricity via hdyrothermal, but could potentially resell energy from any other source connected to their grid.
- 908B64B197 5y agoThey could. They agreed to sell to Mass. at 0.05$/KWh. I don't think there's anything apart from hydro they can sell at this price (and still make a profit on).
- sudosysgen 5y agoHydro Quebec only generates hydroelectricity in the main grid. Some islands that aren't connected may use thermal generators. So no, there is no such risk.
- throwawaycuriou 5y agoI heard that as well and it really detracted from the 'green' component of the project. Did HydroQuebec give any contractual guarantee that this would indeed be hydro-power and not just whatever's surplus in their grid?
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- sudosysgen 5y agoIt's 100% complete bullshit. There are no non-renewable sources connected to the Hydro-Quebec main grid. Fossil fuels are only used for some islands that aren't connected to the main grid.
- throwawaycuriou 5y agoGood to know, can you link me to further explanation about this?
- belval 5y agoHow effective can those arguments be? Quebec power is 95% hydro, you can argue about the remaining 5% but wait it's actually 80% (4%) wind! I think there are arguments about sovereignty, not being reliant on a foreign country for power that could be made, but saying "what if we get the 1% diesel in the mix" is a terrible one.
- subpixel 5y agoEffective doesn’t mean “right” - it just means it worked.
- oblio 5y agoThe thing is, how much are they really cutting for transmission line poles? Their footprint is probably really small, inconsequential, really. It's not like they're building a highway :-)
- adam12 5y agoLooks pretty terrible to me. I wouldn't want this in my backyard just to benefit people in Mass: https://static-35.sinclairstoryline.com/resources/media/78d2589b-5edd-4ae0-9897-fe5b13cc6514-large16x9_CMPCORRIDOR_frame_910.jpg?1596632913080 https://static-35.sinclairstoryline.com/resources/media/78d2...
- oblio 5y agoIt does look quite terrible, but the last bit is an awful reaction in my opinion. NIMBY.
- throwawaycuriou 5y ago75 feet wide over a 53 mile section of land already owned by the local power company. https://www.pressherald.com/2021/10/17/qa-on-question-1-will-transmission-line-be-clean-energy-link-or-scar-on-maines-landscape/?rel=related https://www.pressherald.com/2021/10/17/qa-on-question-1-will...
- loeg 5y ago75 ft x 53 miles is a total of 0.74 square miles. The North Maine Woods are 3.5 million acres, or ~5500 square miles. The total area consumed by the corridor will be about 0.014% of the woods.
- Gracana 5y agoIt pretty much is like building a highway. Transmission tower lines are very big and wide. We (in Maine) also suffered the results of a natural gas pipeline installation, with people’s yards taken by eminent domain laws to make way for the construction.. I’m not surprised people voted against it this time around.
- Dangeranger 5y agoThe opposition is less about cutting trees and more about being bossed around by “big energy”. People don’t like being told what they can and cannot do.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- whatshisface 5y agoHow does building a powerline offend the independent nature of Maine voters?
- throwaway0a5e 5y agoIt has little to do with the line and a lot to do with who wants to build it. CMP probably polls below the DMV when it comes to customer satisfaction. Of course the answer to "we want to do a thing that makes us money but doesn't benefit you or harm you" is "haha GTFO".