Vermont Business Magazine Senator Peter Welch (D-VT) led colleagues in sending a letter to Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm today, urging the Department of Energy (DOE) to consider Transmission Developers Incorporated’s (TDI) application for funding to develop the New England Clean Power Link, a transmission line that would expand New England’s access to clean energy and ease winter grid reliability issues in the region.
Joined by Senators Blumenthal (D-CT), Markey (D-MA), Murphy (D-CT), and Warren (D-MA), the letter asks DOE to carefully consider TDI’s application in order to facilitate implementation of this important project.
“We strongly support the development of new transmission capacity, such as the New England Clean Power Link, which would help address New England’s annual winter grid reliability issues and help the region achieve its renewable energy goals,” the letter read. “The New England Clean Power Link has the capacity to provide much-needed support for New England’s electric grid [and] help us to address the grid reliability challenges we currently face, as well as the problems we will confront in the future caused by a warming climate.”
TDI has applied for funding under DOE’s Transmission Facilitation Program to support the construction of the New England Clean Power Link. The project is a 1,000 megawatt bi-directional transmission line running from Canada, through Vermont, and into Southern New England and would support the clean energy transition in the region and increase grid reliability in winter.
TDI has also pledged $263 million for Lake Champlain clean-up and $109 million for Vermont renewable energy projects over 40 years. For more on TDI’s proposal, please click here.
For the full text of the lawmakers’ letter, please click here.
The project has received all required permits that allow it to bury two six-inch-wide cables an estimated 150 miles, all in Vermont. Approximately 100 miles are permitted to be buried under Lake Champlain and the balance buried underground in existing rights-of-way.
The line will end at a converter station to be built at a location in Ludlow, Vermont and connect into the VELCO transmission grid to serve Vermont and the broader New England market.
The $1.6 billion merchant line will be privately financed and will not use taxpayer dollars. The developers of the Clean Power Link are already developing the Champlain Hudson Power Express project to serve New York state.
Source: 6.1.2023. WASHINGTON—Senator Peter Welch
