ISO-NE has already concluded that imports of renewable and low carbon-emitting resources are critical to meeting New England’s energy objectives. In August 2007, ISO released the results of a study titled “New England Electricity Scenario Analysis”, which was conducted to explore the economic, reliability, and environmental impacts of various resource outcomes for meeting the region’s future electricity needs. One of the conclusions of the study was that lower electricity prices     were possible if a large capacity of lower cost sources could be added to the system through import. If these sources were also from renewable or low-carbon generation, significant environmental benefits would also be available, and progress could be made in meeting the Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) and Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiatives (RGGI).  Major development of wind, hydro, and tidal generation is underway or planned for the northern Maine and eastern Canadian regions.

The study also noted that adding more renewable facilities would likely necessitate the construction of more transmission capacity since the areas that have the highest potential for the development of renewable energy are located far away from demand load centers. The development of additional transmission capacity within New England gained momentum when the ISO-NE Planning Advisory Committee (PAC) held a meeting on December 18, 2007 to discuss the construction of high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission infrastructure to import electricity from Northern Maine and Canada. Several companies, including Bangor Hydro, presented possible projects.