New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced that the 339-mile Champlain Hudson Power Express (CHPE), one of New York’s largest transmission infrastructure projects in 50 years, can now deliver hydropower and other clean energy from Canada to New York City.
CHPE is expected to deliver 10.4 terawatt-hours of clean energy per year to the New York Metro area – meeting up to 20% of the city’s needs.
“The Champlain Hudson Power Express transmission line is one of the first projects I championed as Governor, and is a game changer when it comes to keeping the lights on, helping build a cleaner future and holding costs down,” Governor Hochul said. “With its completion, we are powering 1 million New York City homes with needed clean energy that will serve communities for generations to come. This project is further proof that despite the unprecedented federal headwinds we are facing, New York will remain a national climate and clean energy leader into the future.”
Selected in September 2021 as part of the Tier 4 solicitation administered by NYSERDA, CHPE construction began in 2022. The 1,250-megawatt High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) transmission line runs from Montreal, Quebec, to the Astoria Energy Complex in Queens and connects to the grid at the newly expanded New York Power Authority Astoria Annex substation.
NYPA also supported TDI in the building of a new nearly four-mile underground transmission line, called the Astoria Rainey Cable (ARC), that connects the Astoria Annex to Con Edison’s Rainey substation.
Governor Hochul argues that the CHPE transmission line will help replace the power lost with the closure of the Indian Point nuclear plant. Since Indian Point’s closure, New York City has had to rely more on gas-fired plants.
The CHPE project, contracted by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and developed by Transmission Developers Inc, in partnership with Hydro-Québec, is expected to provide more than $3.4 billion in economic investment over the life of the 25-year contract. Additionally, CHPE’s Green Economy Fund, a $40 million fund, has already awarded $2 million to organizations focused on disadvantaged communities, workforce development, and job retraining, intended to “facilitate entry into the clean energy economy.”
The CHPE project, which is hosted by many local municipalities and counties, is the longest fully buried transmission line in North America and was strategically buried underground and underwater to increase long-term reliability and minimize environmental and community impact. The project is expected to lower electricity generation costs statewide by $17 billion over its first 25 years of operation, and provide increased reliability and resiliency for the downstate grid.
