The last step has been taken for Hydro-Québec, which will be able to export its hydroelectricity to the huge market of the Big Apple and its glittering neighborhoods like Times Square or Broadway. New York authorities today approved the agreement.
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New York State Governor Kathy Hochul announced it on her Twitter account, referring to “a historic agreement” which is part of the initiatives to make the region zero emissions by 2040.
“We can all be proud today. New Yorkers have chosen clean hydroelectricity from Quebec to meet 20% of the electricity needs of the largest American metropolis,” said CEO Sophie Brochu.
The New York Public Utilities Commission made the final approval. Hydro’s partner, Transmission Developers, a subsidiary of the American firm Blackstone, should begin work in 2022.
Titanic
This is the largest contract in the history of the Crown corporation. The 25-year agreement will generate potential revenues of nearly US$30 billion (CAN$38 billion) for Hydro-Québec during this period.
According to government sources consulted by The newspaper in the fall, the American partner should receive about 10 billion dollars in revenue, or one third of the overall contract.
The project is titanic. It provides for the construction of a line of 545 kilometers buried from end to end which will pass under Lake Champlain and also the imposing Hudson River to New York.
In Quebec, the interconnection project calls for the construction of a transmission line nearly 58 km long that will link the Hertel substation in La Prairie to the interconnection point in the Richelieu River.
The Mohawk Council of Kahnawake will own the line in Quebec with the crown corporation. The agreement will result in financial benefits for the community over a period of 40 years.
► The government authorization process is underway and must go through an assessment by the Bureau d’audiences publiques en environnement and the Canada Energy Regulator.