Quebec has been doing well for itself with energy exports, as two recent announcements make clear.
In one announcement in early January, the Vermont Public Service Board approved a 154 mile long transmission line that will allow for the import of Canadian hydroelectric power into the New England region. The US$1.2 billion, high-voltage direct current (HVDC) New England Power Link line is a privately financed merchant line that will not use taxpayer dollars. It is to run underground and underwater from a point near the U.S./Canada border at Alburgh, Vt., and connect hydropower-rich Quebec with the existing Coolidge Substation in Cavendish. The cables will be solid-state dielectric and contain no fluids or gases. The nominal operating voltage of the line will be approximately 300 to 320 kV, and the system will be capable of delivering 1,000 megawatts of electricity.
TDI New England (TDI-NE) says the project is on track for construction to begin this year, with commercial operation slated for 2019.
A second line, the US$1.6 billion, 1,096 MW Northern Pass transmission line, will run through neighbouring New Hampshire, also bringing hydro power from Quebec into New England. New Hampshire’s Site Evaluation Committee announced approval of that project in December. Sixty miles of this line will also be buried. Once a federal permit is issued and the state SEC approves the plan, construction could begin in 2017 and operation commence also in 2019.
Writing in The Star January 26, Tyler Hamilton observes that Obama’s Clean Power Plan, in seeking to cut carbon dioxide emissions from US power plants by a third by 2030 (a commitment also made in the recent Paris talks on limiting climate change, see "World’s nations get serious about climate change, also in this issue) will result in a tripling of the flow of Canadian electricity into Midwestern and northeastern border states.
The June 2015 issue of IPPSO FACTO carried a story about the 500 kilovolt Great Northern Transmission Line having been approved by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission. The line is designed to bring hydroelectricity from Manitoba to customers in northeastern Minnesota.
In a related matter, Alberta and Manitoba premiers Rachel Notley and Greg Selinger met January 8 and signed a memorandum of understanding committing the provinces to work together for a year on several issues, including improving integration of the electrical grid in the region, reducing reliance in off-grid communities on diesel power for electricity, and increasing renewables, conservation, efficiency and energy innovation.