Residents of the US town of Rockingham have voted 887-829 against buying the Bellows Falls dam, ending a seven year bid to purchase the 49MW hydro facility.
The results of this fourth and final vote mean that energy company TransCanada, who purchased the power network on the Connecticut and Deerfield rivers from USGen New England in April this year, will likely continue to own and operate the plant.
If the deal had gone ahead, Canada’s Brascan Corporation and Emera Incorporated – operating as the Bellows Falls Power Company – would have provided the US$72M needed to buy the project, receiving profits from the sale of electricity. The town would have owned the dam outright in 74 years, after leasing the scheme to the power company.
The results of this public vote follows a similar rejection on 12 July, when the town defeated the bid by 864-638 votes.
Related ArticlesBellows Falls deal agreed Revote on Bellows Falls possible