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Permit sought for transmission line under Lake Champlain 

Credit:  By John Herrick | VTDigger.org | Posted: 12/09/2014 | www.benningtonbanner.com ~~

A company seeking to build a high-voltage power line beneath Lake Champlain applied for a state permit Tuesday.

TDI New England is asking the Public Service Board for a certificate of public good to build a 154-mile underground and underwater power line that would carry hydroelectric and wind power generated in Canada to metropolitan energy markets.

The company, which is a subsidiary of a Wall Street financial service group, also said it would contribute nearly $300 million to the state for environmental and other purposes. The $1.2 billion project is expected to be completed by 2019, company officials said.

TDI says it has purchased all the private property it needs to built the project. It is still seeking permission from federal regulators.

The 1,000 megawatt transmission line is the first of its size to be reviewed for its environmental impact on the lake, a state official said. The transmission line would pass under nearly 100 miles of Lake Champlain to a proposed converter station in Ludlow, crossing wetlands and streams along the way.

The company, a subsidiary of financial firm Blackstone Group, which manages more $200 billion in assets, is offering the state a benefits package of $298 million over the project’s 40-year lifespan.

Of that, $120 million would go into a fund to aid in Lake Champlain phosphorus cleanup, habitat restoration and recreational improvements.

The company is also paying the state’s transmission utility, Vermont Electric Power Co., or VELCO, $136 million. The state’s electric utilities, which own VELCO, would receive the money based on how much power they provide to customers. The money is expected to then be use to reduce electric rates, a state official said.

VELCO President and CEO Tom Dunn said the project could provide benefits to Vermont and the region, but state regulators will decide whether it is in the public good. He said the money will not affect VELCO’s review of the technical merits of the project.

“We’re pretty much acting as a conduit for the money,” Dunn said. “We are not going to compromise the reliability of the grid for this project or any other project.”

TDI New England would also contribute $40 million to the Clean Energy Development Fund. The company says the project will generate millions property tax and sales tax revenue, create hundreds of construction jobs, reduce greenhouse gas emission and lower electricity prices.

TDI New England Chief Executive Officer Donald Jessome said the project and its associated benefits package will be good for Vermont, but understands the impacts.

“We’re asking the state of Vermont to host a major infrastructure project,” Jessome said. “We will be running through Lake Champlain. That water body is a public trust and we certainly understand that not every project will get permitted.”

The company will not own the power running through the lines. Power suppliers in Quebec could contract with Vermont utilities to sell and deliver the power, he said. No long-term power purchase agreements have been made.

Department of Public Service Commissioner Chris Recchia said the state is just starting to review the project. He said while the state will not likely receive any of the power from the project, the benefits package addresses an appropriate need.

“We won’t be getting any power from this project. Our utilities don’t really need it,” Recchia said. “So it’s really important that if Vermont does host a project like this, that we have a significant benefit.”

ANBARIC PURSUES PROJECT IN MAINE

The developer of another transition line project in Vermont is moving forward on a project in Maine.

Massachusetts-based Anbaric is partnering with National Grid, a London-based power supplier, to bring up to 3,000 megawatts of power to the region, the two companies announced Tuesday. For now, Anbaric will focus on a 1,000 MW transmission project in Maine. The company plans to use public money to finance the project.

The transmission company developed what it calls a “winning” combination of wind power and on-demand hydropower. The company eventually hopes to brings utility-scale wind power from New York and hydropower from Quebec under Lake Champlain to a substation in Burlington. Anbaric has not applied for a state permit.

The project does not have the money it needs to go forward. Unlike TDI New England, Anbaric is planning to use money from ratepayers if the six New England states reach an agreement on how to share the cost of transmission line projects.

The regional initiative to build more pipelines and power lines in the region came to a halt this summer when the Massachusetts Legislature failed to pass a bill that would require electric utilities to purchase long-term contracts for renewable power.

The proposal would have socialized the costs of infrastructure upgrades through electric rates. The anticipated projects are estimated to cost billions of dollars.

Gov. Peter Shumlin has questioned whether transmission projects would leave the state with avoidable costs. This comes after VELCO warned that several of the transmission line projects proposed in the region have been underestimated.

The region’s dependence on natural gas and its limited pipeline capacity have nudged electricity prices up at a time when more large power generators, including Vermont Yankee, are scheduled to go offline. States are also looking for renewable sources of power to meet renewable energy targets.

Despite setbacks in the effort to collaborate as a region on infrastructure development, the region’s grid operator has made clear that reliability and economic concerns remain ahead.

“The need to do something hasn’t gone away,” Anbaric CEO Ed Krapels said.

Stan Blazewicz, vice president of U.S. business development for National Grid, said the region will need to find more renewable power to meet escalating renewable portfolio standards. He said that means looking for wind power backed up with constant hydropower.

“Frankly, were just simply running out of the low-hanging fruit,” he said.

He said the partnership would allow Anbaric to use its project development experience to begin projects and National Grid could use its engineering and operating skills to build and maintain the line.

Source:  By John Herrick | VTDigger.org | Posted: 12/09/2014 | www.benningtonbanner.com

This article is the work of the source indicated. Any opinions expressed in it are not necessarily those of National Wind Watch.

The copyright of this article resides with the author or publisher indicated. As part of its noncommercial educational effort to present the environmental, social, scientific, and economic issues of large-scale wind power development to a global audience seeking such information, National Wind Watch endeavors to observe “fair use” as provided for in section 107 of U.S. Copyright Law and similar “fair dealing” provisions of the copyright laws of other nations. Send requests to excerpt, general inquiries, and comments via e-mail.

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