The Champlain Hudson Power Express (CHPE) is a high-voltage direct current (HVDC) submarine power cable project linking the Montreal area to the New York City suburb of Yonkers. If approved, the line is expected to be commissioned in 2015.
The venture, led by Canadian-based company Transmission Developers Inc., would carry renewable energy - hydropower and wind power from eastern Canada - and feed it directly in the New York City electricity market. Construction costs for this project are estimated at 1.9 billion U.S. dollars for the section located in the State of New York.[1]
The Quebec section of the line would be built and operated by TransÉnergie, the transmission arm of Hydro-Québec.[2]
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Power rates in the New York metro area and Long Island have long been among the highest in the U.S.[3] and according to the U.S. Department of Energy, the city is the "epicenter" of grid congestion in the eastern United States. The congestion problem in the New York City area and on Long Island is compounded by the fact that the area uses two-thirds of the state's electricity while most generation and import capacity is located upstate and near the Great Lakes.[4]
Over the years, a number of proposals to increase transmission capacity to the New York City and Long Island markets have encountered hostile reactions and determined opposition from environmental groups and communities along the planned paths.
For instance, construction of the Cross Sound Cable, a 328-MW submarine DC cable linking Connecticut to Long Island via the Long Island Sound, was authorized in 2002, but its commissioning was delayed for a year because of a dispute involving the promoter and the state of Connecticut.[5] Another project, the Neptune Regional Transmission System has been operational since 2007. The 65 miles (105 km) 500 kV cable connects New Jersey and Long Island. It runs buried in the Atlantic Ocean and has a capacity of 660 megawatts.[6]
However, a 400 kilovolts DC line 306 kilometres (190 mi) between the Rock Tavern substation, 60 miles north of New York, and the Marcy hub in central New York, has been marred by controversy. Launched in 2006,[7] the proposed New York Regional Interconnect (NYRI) had a 1,200 megawatts capacity. It was shelved by its developers in early 2009 after two years of staunch opposition from several groups concerned by the impact of pylons along the proposed route.[8]
TDI, whose board is chaired by former Ontario Premier David Peterson, is backed by the Blackstone Group investment bank and Quebec-based engineering firm RSW Inc.[9] The project was announced on February 23, 2010.
The CHPE tries to skirt difficulties encountered by other proposals by presenting itself as an "environmentally benign" solution. By avoiding overhead wires and 10 storeys high towers, the promoter hopes to avoid the fate of previous projects, such as NYRI. The initial project involved two 1,000 MW lines, the first one to New York, and the second going all the way to Connecticut, via the Long Island Sound. The construction cost for the two lines and converter stations in the U.S. was estimated at 3.8 billion dollars.[10] The line to Connecticut was cancelled in July 2010.[11]
According to the company's president and CEO, Donald Jessome, choosing an underwater route avoids " disrupt[ing] communities with overhead transmissions". The developer says that the cable also provides economic and environmental benefits to the state, bringing cheap and renewable power to critical load centers. He also stressed the company's ongoing talks with Nalcor Energy, who is considering building hydroelectric and wind power facilities in Labrador.[10]
The proposed cable would have a length of 335 miles (539 km) between the Canada-U.S. border and its southern terminal, in Yonkers, New York. The two 5-inch (127 mm) cables would be buried at a depth of 3 feet (91 cm) under Lake Champlain and the Hudson River between Albany and Manhattan.
The cable would cross the border under Lake Champlain and would run southward to the northern entrance of the Champlain Canal at Whitehall. On its way to the Hudson, the cables would be briefly taken out of the canal and buried for 2.1 miles (3.4 km), in order to avoid 3 locks. In order to avoid the PCB clean-up site in Hudson River, a 73-mile (117 km) section the line would be taken out of the Champlain Canal, north of Fort Edward and buried along Canadian Pacific and CSX rail rights of way. The cable would re-enter the Hudson River south of Albany, in the Selkirk area.[12]
The proposed cable would resume its path below the river bed to reach a HVDC converter station to be built in Yonkers. From this point, the current would be sent to New York by AC cables.
In an economic analysis filed on behalf of the promoter to the New York Public Service Commission in July 2010, London Economics International estimates that the projected line would save New York customers $8.1 billion (2010) on their electricity bills over the first 10 years of operations, between 2015 and 2024.[13] In addition, the proposed cable would have positive impacts on the electricity grid, since power carried by the cables would force the retirement of older, uneconomic power plants in New York. Moreover, the capacity addition provided by the 1,000 MW line is expected to lower the monthly cost of UCAP reserves in the southeastern part of the State.[13]
The planned line, which would carry 7.64 terawatt-hours of renewable electricity per year, would lower SO2 emissions by 6,800 tonnes, NOx emissions by 10,800 tonnes and CO2 emissions by nearly 37 million tonnes during the first decade of operation.[13]
According to the promoter, the Quebec section of the line would start at a DC conversion station to be built near Hydro-Québec TransÉnergie's Hertel substation (735-315 kV) near La Prairie, and would reach the Richelieu River with a short overland power line. The cables would then be buried in the river bed through the Richelieu and the northern end of Lake Champlain to reach the junction point at the international border.[2]
Hydro-Québec and the Quebec government initial reaction to the project was first met with some skepticism, considering the 400 to 500 million Canadian dollars price tag for the Quebec section of the line. In addition, the CHPE would compete with a proposed 1,200 MW HVDC line to be built by the company in association with NSTAR and Northeast Utilities, which is expected to increase exports of Quebec hydropower to New England.[14][15] Reflecting on the project in April 2010, Hydro-Quebec's CEO, Thierry Vandal, stated that it was technically "very complex" and "very costly".[16]
Despite its mixed initial reaction, the Quebec utility intervened in support of the proposal before the FERC in May 2010,[17] stressing that it meets the requirements of the U.S. regulatory framework.[18]
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