Clean energy megaprojects, including in Maine, divide environmentalists

ASSOCIATED PRESS • May 3, 2021

As President Biden’s administration plans to fight climate change by weaning the nation off fossil fuels, these large-scale renewable energy projects are the source of conflict within a seemingly unlikely group: environmentalists. In Maine, a $1 billion hydropower electricity transmission corridor called the New England Clean Energy Connect would cut through sparsely populated western woods. Environmental groups disagree about whether the 145-mile corridor comes at too high a cost in loss of trees and wildlife habitat. A grassroots group, Say No to NECEC, calls the project an “unmitigated disaster” for Maine. But the Conservation Law Foundation, a leading environmental group based in Boston, praised the fact that the project would reduce fossil fuel reliance in New England.