Officials from Transmission Developers, the company planning to place a buried, underwater electric transmission cable between Quebec and New York City, provided an update on the project to interested parties in Plattsburgh this week.
The Champlain Hudson Power Express Project is a 333-mile long, 1,000 megawatt transmission cable that will run under Lake Champlain and the Hudson River. In areas along its route where it cannot be submerged, it will be buried. The New York Citizens Advisory Committee of the Lake Champlain Basin Program asked the company for an update on the project.
The 2.2 billion dollar privately funded electric line has received all of its New York permits and is now awaiting federal approvals, according to Transmission Developers Senior Public Affairs Consultant Rick Chase.
Questions over the technology used in the project were a major focus of the meeting. Some officials asked whether plans that prevent communities along the route from tapping into the power source would change. Executive Vice President William Helmer said that’s unlikely.
Lake Champlain Basin Program Director Bill Howland says he was most intrigued to hear how the cable was being routed to avoid sensitive environmental areas and the company’s invasive prevention measures.
Lake Champlain Committee Staff Scientist Mike Winslow has been following the project closely.
The company plans to pay taxes to host communities that the transmission corridor traverses. Transmission Developers is currently targeting putting the line in service in 2018.
