Cables delivered for power transmission project bringing 1,250 MW into New York City

Champlain Hudson Power Express project developers said March 30 that 35 reels of high-voltage direct current cables had arrived in the Port of Albany, New York, as part of the 339-mile transmission line that will deliver 1,250 MW of power from Quebec to Queens by 2026.

"Once completed, the Champlain Hudson Power Express transmission project will dramatically strengthen our ability to power New York City with clean, reliable energy for decades to come," Doreen Harris, president and CEO of the New York Energy Research and Development Authority, said in a statement.

Delivered from Karlskrona, Sweden, the cable reels will be transported by individual trucks to Fort Edward, New York, for inspection and staging prior to installation, according to the statement.

This was the first shipment of over 500 cables needed to complete the land-based portion of the route, and in addition to the about 140 miles of underground cable, the project will also use roughly 190 miles of submarine cable that will be buried in waterways, the developers said.

"The delivery of these HDVC cables is a major step in developing this massive infrastructure project and NYSERDA looks forward to seeing the in-state investment, good-paying union jobs, and local economic development that will be realized throughout the construction process," Harris said.

The project is backed by investment firm Blackstone through Transmission Developers Inc. and the power will be supplied by government-owned Hydro Quebec.

Needed for reliability

The New York Independent System Operator in November released a report on future electric grid reliability that found thinning reliability margins over the next decade driven by the retirement of natural gas-fired generation and electrification trends.

The report, called the Reliability Needs Assessment, which is conducted every two years and evaluates grid reliability over the next 10 years found that timely completion of the CHPE project will be critical to maintaining reliability.

Although transmission security within New York City is maintained through the 10-year period, the margins are "very tight" and decrease to roughly 50 MW by 2025, according to the report.

The reliability assessment found that a key piece of the supply picture is the CHPE transmission project that began construction in late November 2022. Summer reliability margins improve in 2026 with the scheduled addition of the CHPE connection from Hydro Quebec to New York City "but reduce through time as demand grows within New York City," NYISO said.

Additionally, the report found that reliability margins within New York City may not be sufficient even for expected weather if:

• The CHPE project experiences a significant delay
• Forecast power demand in New York City increases by as little as 60 MW in 2025
• There are additional generator deactivations beyond what is already planned

NYSERDA added a new class of renewable energy credits, known as the Tier 4 REC program, to enable renewable energy resources to be delivered to New York City which relies heavily on fossil fuel-fired power generation. As mandated in the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, the state is targeting a 70% renewable electricity supply by 2030 and a zero-emission power grid by 2040.