May 2012, Vol. 67 No. 5
Newsline
Proposed Canada-New York transmission line goes to bid
The developer of a 333-mile transmission line that will run from Canada to New York City plans to issue a solicitation for an engineering, procurement and construction contract after reaching a settlement on Feb. 24 with state agencies and environmental groups in New York. The settlement re-routes some sections of the line away from environmentally sensitive areas and creates a $117 million environment benefit fund.
The $2 billion Champlain Hudson Power Express will be designed to carry 1,000 MW of renewable energy via a high-voltage direct current line running underground and under water.
Albany, NY-based Transmission Developers Inc. (TDI) is developing the project, which is designed to deliver hydroelectricity and wind power. The line will be placed in waterways from the U.S.-Canadian border near Champlain, MY, and continue south under Lake Champlain for 101 miles. Plans call for the line to exit at the lakes’ southern end, near Dresden, NY, and then extend through mostly right-of-ways along land until reaching the Hudson River in Catskill, NY. The line will then run under the Harlem River before making landfall in Queens, NY. It will deliver clean power to meet growing demand in that area, increase the security of the electric grid and reduce energy costs for consumers.
TDI says the project cost rose to mostly due to the new route, which replaced some under water cable with underground cable, a more expensive undertaking.
Once the project secures all permitting, federal included, TDI hopes to complete the line in 2016.
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