Thorn Dickinson

Built World

Led project through permitting, litigation, and construction

For 40 years, Hydro-Québec wanted to sell more power to New England. For 40 years, transmission bottlenecks and local opposition stopped them. On January 16, 2026, a 145-mile power line through Maine's western woods began delivering 1,200 megawatts of Canadian hydroelectricity to Massachusetts—enough to supply 20% of the state's needs and the largest clean energy transmission addition to New England's grid in decades. Ten days later, during a winter storm, the line went dark.

Updated Jan 30