Legault remains confident after voters in Maine say no to Hydro-Quebec project
BNN Bloomberg
Voters in Maine have voted No to having a Hydro-Quebec power transmission line pass through the state, but Quebec Premier Francois Legault is still confident the $10-billion power export contract to Massachusetts will come to pass.
MONTREAL -- Voters in Maine have voted No to having a Hydro-Quebec power transmission line pass through the state, but Quebec Premier Francois Legault is still confident the $10-billion power export contract to Massachusetts will come to pass.
Legault commented today on the results of Tuesday's referendum in Maine, a stinging setback for the Crown corporation and his government's plan to make Quebec the "battery of North America."
Legault told reporters on the sidelines of the COP26 climate talks in Scotland that he knew the results of the referendum would be tight and says the governor of Massachusetts is determined to see the agreement through.
Legault says there's a Plan B for the project that entail different transmission routes, but he couldn't give more details, adding the project had been approved by multiple state and federal agencies.
Hydro-Quebec has said the project would cut 3 million metric tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year -- the equivalent of taking 700,000 cars off the road.
Maine's major environmental groups aren't convinced of the benefits and raised concerns about the impact of the proposed power lines through the northern part of the state, particularly the 85 kilometres of new lines that would travel across the North Maine Woods.
