Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today issued a statement in support of proposals to supply the Commonwealth of Massachusetts with 1,000 MW of electricity via the TDI New England Clean Power Link (NECPL). The TDI project would run from the Canadian border, under Lake Champlain for nearly a hundred miles before connecting to the New England grid in Ludlow. The $1.2 billion Power Link would supply nearly twice the power that the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant did before it was shut down in 2014. It is expected to go online in 2019, as long is it gets the permits and power contracts needed to proceed. The permits are mostly in place. A deal for power in Massachusetts would push the project closer to fruition.
Governor Scott: “I strongly encourage the Massachusetts’ Electric Distribution Companies to select the NECPL to supply clean, cost-effective electricity in response to the Massachusetts Clean Energy Request for Proposals (RFP). This RFP is designed to help Massachusetts achieve the mandate set by its Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
“The NECPL is a well-designed, innovative transmission project that Vermont looks forward to hosting. The project will be buried in Lake Champlain and along existing rights-of-way, greatly reducing community and environmental impacts. The transmission line enjoys very broad support throughout state and local government, as well as from businesses and homeowners.
“This mature, viable project is a win-win for Vermont and Massachusetts consumers as it provides tremendous economic and environmental benefits for both states, including cleaner air and lower-cost power, increased tax payments, jobs and programs to help low-income residents and the environment.
“As we move to a future that relies more heavily on electricity for heating and transportation, Vermont and the rest of New England will need new sources of clean power. The NECPL will provide a new infrastructure link between abundant sources of renewable hydropower and wind energy in Québec with the New England market, where it is needed most.
“Hydro-Québec, NECPL’s main electricity supplier, has been a market participant in the New England Power Pool (NEPOOL) and the ISO-NE markets for decades, and has reliably provided Vermont and New England with a significant source of clean energy for decades.
“The NECPL has been a good neighbor to Vermont residents and businesses. Vermont is pleased to support this project and the benefits it will offer the Commonwealth for decades to come.”
Phil Scott has supported buying more power from Canada as both a candidate for governor and now as governor. Governor Peter Shumlin before him also supported the TDI project.
The US Department of Energy last December issued a presidential permit authorizing construction of a 1,000-MW underground and underwater transmission line that will run from eastern Canada to power markets in New England and Vermont, the Associated Press reports.
TDI New England, owned by Blackstone Portfolio, is privately financing the line and will construct a new converter station in Ludlow. According to project backers, of the several proposed transmission lines that would move Canadian mostly-hydro power into New England, the Clean Power Link is the only one to have received all necessary siting permits to date.
The project has also has received confirmation from ISO New England that the line can reliably connect to the regional electric grid.
The New England Clean Power Link is a proposed 154-mile underwater and underground transmission line that will deliver 1,000 MW of clean, lower-cost power to the Vermont and New England market. The line is being developed with private-sector financing by TDI New England and will originate at the U.S.-Canadian border and travel approximately 97 miles underwater down Lake Champlain to Benson, Vermont. The cable will then be buried along town and state road and railroad rights-of-way or on land owned by TDI New England for approximately 57 miles to a new converter station to be built in Ludlow, Vermont. The project is expected to be in service in 2019, at a cost of approximately $1.2 billion.
TDI New England is a Blackstone Portfolio Company. New York based Blackstone is a global leader in alternative asset management with more than $330 billion currently under management. The TDI New England team is made up of the same leadership team currently developing the Champlain Hudson Power Express in New York State. That project has received all major federal and state permits required to proceed. The developers have a strong track record of working in partnership with local elected officials, community groups, and other stakeholders to develop projects that meet unique energy needs of growing economies, while minimizing local impacts. More information on the company and the project are available at www.necplink.com.
Source: Governor. TDI 7.27.2017