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Welcome to the 5th and final episode of our series, 53 Miles of Maine, covering a very controversial transmission line to run through Maine carrying hydropower electricity from Canada into the New England grid that was approved by state and federal regulators but stalled by a pubic referendum.

Throughout this series, we have covered several different larger themes from this story that are playing out all over the country as it relates to our clean energy transition.  We encourage everyone to check those out if you haven't already.  

In this 5th and final episode, we have a special conversation I moderated between someone from each side of the debate over this project.  Sandra Howard and Anthony Moffa, who stand against and for the project respectively, agreed to sit down together to discuss these larger themes after hearing the first 4 episodes.  It is a rarity these days that we get people on opposite sides of any polarizing and emotional issue to sit down and talk, so I'm so grateful to both Sandra and Anthony for taking the time.

Our hope is that this can serve as a reminder that discussion and discord are so valuable in finding our way through this incredibly complex but equally critical transition off of fossil fuels in the years and decades ahead.  

Today in Episode 4 of 53 Miles of Maine, we dive into the role competitive energy companies, such as NextEra, played in supporting the opposition efforts to the New England Clean Energy Connect.

In doing so we’ll breakdown the playbook pioneered by fossil fuel giant Koch Industries that is being used by big energy companies all over the country to stall or support opposition to projects that are not their own.

Whether or not that applied here in Maine and if so, how influential it was in the ultimate outcome is a subject for much debate and discussion. Supporters of the NECEC believe it played a significant role, while the frontline of the opposition cite that they only needed the funding from competitive energy companies in order to keep up with the marketing spend of Hydro Quebec and the NECEC.

All that and more today in Episode 4.

As a recap for the series so far:


Episode 1: Overview and timeline for the NECEC and how and why it got shut down in Maine
Episode 2: The growing conflict between renewable energy advocates and environmental conservationists
Episode 3: How and why our renewable energy transition will be decided at the Local level
Episode 4: The tools big energy companies use to shut down competitive renewable projects and if that applied in Maine
Episode 5: Final Recap, Coming Soon

Welcome back to 53 Miles in Maine, our 5-part series covering a controversial clean energy project that got shut down by a pubic referendum in Maine in November 2021 and is now being decided in the courts.

In this series, we are looking into what happened in Maine as a lens into 3 broader themes impacting our much needed transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy when it comes to our electricity grid.


In Episode 1, we provided a detailed timeline of what took place in Maine
In Episode 2, we discussed why Environmental Activists & Clean Energy Advocates are increasingly at odds with these projects
And now here, in Episode 3, we are discussing why and how these big Clean Energy Projects are shifting from a solely Regulatory review process to a hybrid of a Regulatory + Public Review and how that played out here in Maine

In Episode 4, coming next, we will tackle our 3rd and final theme, the playbook big energy companies are using to stall and block clean energy projects that are not their own

The regulator system designed to govern these types of projects was not really built for the variety and volume we are seeing now as we shift of fossil fuels, let alone the new world order we are in where everything also needs to go through the court of public opinion. In the case of the New England Clean Energy Connect in Maine, they checked all of the regulatory boxes but were unable to convince the public.

This is especially important for renewable energy and the infrastructure needed to support it because so many of these projects will live and die at the hands of local support.

There are a lot of lessons learned here and we aim to bring this out to the forefront.

Here are a few documents and studies that are referenced or in support of the conversations in this episode:


Nationwide Local Infrastructure Study

Welcome to the 2nd episode in our 5-part series covering a controversial clean energy project in Maine. It’s a hydropower initiative that initially got approved by state and federal agencies, then voted down in a public referendum, and now being determined in Maine’s courts. While the project was is taking hydropower from Canada and moving it into the New England electricity grid via a commercial deal with Massachusetts, it relies on moving all that energy through the state of Maine.

We are not going to answer if we think the project should move forward or not. Rather, we are using the Maine story to provide a lens into 3 distinct themes that are playing out all over the country in our shift to renewable energy.

You will hear from folks who both support and oppose this project throughout the series. A reminder that Episode 1 provides a detailed timeline of what happened in Maine, so if you have not listened that yet, please do!

In this episode, we dive into 1 of those 3 key issues: THE GROWING TENSION BETWEEN ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISTS AND CLEAN ENERGY ADVOCATES

While both sides are very much for saving this planet and addressing our climate crisis with urgency, there are differing opinions over what renewable energy sources we prioritize, how we get there, and what environmental trade-offs we can accept along the way.

As always, reach out to hello@iloveanimalia.com if you have any questions or comments.

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Welcome to Part 1 of our 5-part series covering a very controversial renewable energy project that got shut down in a public referendum in Maine despite previously getting approval from state and federal regulators.

While this energy was being purchased by the state of Massachusetts and generated by a hydropower company in Canada, it would require transmitting the energy through the state of Maine and thus in order to build out that transmission it needed Maine’s approval to move forward.

Supporters of this project call it the New England Clean Energy Connect. Opposition groups call it the CMP Corridor. Just the difference in naming alone tells you a lot about their respective viewpoints.

You’re going to hear throughout this series from folks on both sides of this particular initiative. But the reason we are covering it here at Animalia is not because we are taking our own stance on whether or not this project should move forward - we purposely leave that a bit open ended and we shall see how it plays out in the courts - but rather to use it as a lens into 3 larger issues playing out across the country as we grabble with figuring out how to shift from fossil fuel power generation to renewable generation.

In Episodes 2-4, we will cover each of those in detail.


In Episode 2, we will dive into the battle brewing between Environmental Activists & Clean Energy Advocates.  All forms of energy, including renewables, have environmental trade-offs.  Evaluating where and when they are worth taking is increasingly becoming complex and divisive, creating tension between environmental activists and clean energy advocates, despite both camps wanting to get off fossil fuels and save this planet.  
In Episode 3, we will explore why the most critical decisions ahead in our transition off of fossil fuels are very much happening at the local level because of the land use and infrastructure needed for scaling renewable power generation.  We can no longer just rely on regulatory approval, and need to increasingly engage the public and get their buy in sooner than later.
In Episode 4, we will look at how big energy companies around the country are using social media, marketing, and propaganda to stall clean energy projects.  In all cases this is to protect their own business interests, be it fossil fuels or their own renewables.  In the case of this project in Maine, there were big energy companies on both sides with renewable and fossil fuels interests when you roll things up to parent company levels.  How and why did 3 big energy companies seemingly not involved get involved and support the opposition to help build the public pushback?


Then in Episode 5 we will do a recap with key takeaways.

Here are some reference materials to read up further on this story. Feel free to reach out with any quesitons!


Documentation of the State level regulatory hearing
Documentation of the Federal level regulatory hearing
Article questioning claims of those behind the project
Live radio debate between the NRCM and the NECEC
Some info on Northern Pass project that preceded this one

The Northern Rangelands Trust, or NRT, is one of the largest conservation organizations in the world, setting up community conservations across nearly 10% of Kenya.

Last year, they were called out in a scathing report from the Oakland Institute called Stealth Game, which put forth many allegations of wrongful behavior within the NRT, an organization backed by several household names such as The Nature Conservancy & The World Wildlife Fund.

While the NRT adamantly denies these allegations and is working on developing it’s own internal study, this report highlights a conversation we need to have about the Western Colonial model of wildlife conservation and why it needs to change if we are ever going to reach true climate justice.

What are those solutions and why are these allegations against the NRT so concerning? I sit down with Oakland Institute founder and executive director Anuradha Mittal in today’s episode.

SUPPORING CONTENT

Again I encourage you all to evaluate this story for yourselves. These allegations have been denied by the NRT. The Report provides many detailed examples but the NRT provides details of their own to counter them. Here are the relevant materials:

The Complete Stealth Game Report

Oakland & NRT Exchange

NRT Annual Report