Maine supreme court breathes new life into power project

By DAVID SHARP
Associated Press

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine’s highest court is breathing new life into a $1 billion transmission line project aimed at serving as a conduit for Canadian hydropower. The  Supreme Judicial Court ruled Tuesday that there was merit in developers’ claims that a referendum rebuking the project was unconstitutional. Now it goes back to a lower court for further proceedings. The supreme court has not yet ruled in a separate case that focuses on a lease for a 1-mile portion of the proposed power line that crosses state-owned property. Central Maine Power’s parent company and Hydro Quebec teamed up on the project that would supply up to 1,200 megawatts of Canadian hydropower.