New York’s electric grid is about to get a hydropower makeover. It only took 15 years and $6 billion dollars, but a 339-mile underwater power line from Quebec to Queens is in the final stages of approval — a rare success story in a country that has repeatedly failed to install major transmission lines, writes POLITICO’s E&E News reporter Miranda Willson. To meet its ambitious climate change goals, the Biden administration will need to facilitate miles of long-distance power lines to move low-carbon resources like solar and wind electricity to cities and towns. Overcoming local opposition to get those lines approved, not to mention paid for, has long been a thorn in the government’s side. That’s why some Democratic lawmakers support easing project permitting requirements (though not if it also means expediting fossil fuel infrastructure). The developers of the Champlain Hudson Power Express spent years courting local communities’ support, including by pledging millions of dollars for city projects, Miranda writes. If there’s a lesson to be learned from CHPE, or “Chippy," it may be that the long game pays off. The project’s success is good news for New York, considering the gap between its clean power goals and current energy mix. The state aims to get 70 percent of its electricity from low-carbon sources by 2030 and 100 percent by 2040. As of 2021, less than a third of the state’s power comes from solar, wind and hydropower. The new power line, which will carry hydropower from a network of dams in Canada, has an estimated completion date in 2026. It is expected to provide 20 percent of the state’s electricity needs — a significant boost for clean power. Hydropower is also constant, meaning it can offer reliable power when solar and wind ebb with the weather. Still, the project is not without its risks. The power line will run under the Hudson River and Lake Champlain, which has spurred environmental groups to worry about potential harm to ecosystems, including fish species. The Hudson River is already under stress from years of chemical pollution. To assuage concerns, the developers chose routes that bypass sensitive areas and have allocated $117 million for restoring and protecting fish habitats in both water bodies. But the power line could also offer potential environmental justice benefits in New York by leading to the retirement of so-called peaker plants. Peaker plants, which provide power for the grid when demand is particularly high, are disproportionately located in low-income communities of color and emit toxic air pollution.
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