A proposal to create a new transmission line to connect New England with Canadian hydropower is one step closer to reality.
Recently the U.S. Department of Energy announced that, they have selected the Twin States Clean Energy Link as one of three transmission projects which will be a part of its $1.3 billion investment to add capacity to the grid.
Twin States is a proposal from National Grid, a utility company which serves Rhode Island, New York and Massachusetts and also owns transmission in England and Wales, and the non-profit Citizens Energy Corporation.
The transmission line would join New England with power from Hydro-Quebec, moving into the United States from Canada in Northern Vermont and crossing into New Hampshire near Dalton. It would run through parts of Merrimack, Grafton and Hillsborough counties, routing through a substation in Dunbarton and ending at a proposed new substation in Londonderry.
The federal funding will let the U.S. Department of Energy to purchase capacity on the planned transmission line, which officials say to lessens the risk for other investors and can help to encourage others to purchase capacity.
The project has got support from local officials in Vermont and New Hampshire, including Gov. Chris Sununu, but yet there are still hurdles to clear. National Grid said that, the contract negotiation process is starting and from regulators the proposal still needs approvals before construction starts.
In Canada, First Nations societies have opposed transmission lines connecting Hydro-Quebec with New England in the past, and the company has faced scrutiny from environmental groups.
Twin States will take the shape of:
Transmission projects, such as failed Northern Pass proposal, have been controversial in New England.
But Reihaneh Irani-Famili, vice president of capital delivery, project management and construction at National Grid, said that, this one is different because before planning the project the developers listened to community concerns.
They did not want new corridors of infrastructure, so we made sure they will be using the existing ones and they did not want the visual impact and some of the newer corridors of infrastructure.
In Northern New Hampshire and Vermont, the transmission lines would be buried underground along state roads. South of Littleton, would be placed within existing transmission corridors.
The developers say the lines could give 1,200 megawatts of transmission capacity. The project would have the capability to carry electricity from hydro facilities in Quebec to New England, and would also be able to bring electricity from New England into Quebec.
Irani-Famili also said that, those hydro dams become giant green batteries for the county and they hold that water until we need the electrons. So, if you think about our energy system not as one that sees borders, but as one which sees resources, then this will connect the Quebec resources to the New England resources and will help everyone to get into that cleaner energy future with a lot less build than we would have and the transmission line could help facilitate more clean energy resources like offshore wind coming online.
According to a recent report New Hampshire’s Department of Energy on offshore wind industry impacts, authors said interfacing with Canadian hydropower could be one of the most cost-effective ways to move away from fossil fuels on the electric grid.
National Grid estimates that the project will help to save energy customers $8.3 billion dollars in its first 12 years. The developers are constructing a $260 million “community benefits plan” which would take some profits from the transmission line and give that money back to communities that host the transmission lines and environmental justice communities in New England.
