Hydro-Québec sees fewer barriers to New York exports than Maine project

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Hydro-Québec’s project to deliver power to New York state is unlikely to face the same hurdles as an interconnection line in Maine, according to Serge Abergel, chief operating officer of its US subsidiary Hydro-Quebec Energy Services.

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One reason is that New York state doesn’t have a referendum process that could block the project, as Maine did last year, Abergel said in an interview in Montreal, where he made a presentation Tuesday to the Montreal Conference. . He pointed out that the New York project has all the necessary permits for its construction and should be in service in 2025.

But Abergel has yet to declare victory. “I have concerns about all the projects,” he said. “I want to be clear: It’s not because there’s a particular threat, but it’s our job to be proactive. We don’t take anything for granted.”

The project, which should generate $20 billion in revenue over 25 years and power the equivalent of one million homes, has strong support from communities suffering from the effects of fossil fuel energy-related air pollution that the state of New York wants to replace with clean energy. energy sources, Abergel said.

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For example, thermal plants around New York City create pollution, particularly in Queens and Manhattan, and some sectors are nicknamed “Asthma Alley”.

“It is the place in the United States with the highest rate of asthma due to local air pollution,” Abergel said in his presentation. “People mobilized and said they were fed up with this environmental discrimination.”

The fate of the Maine project is still uncertain. The 336-kilometer project that would cross Quebec and Maine to bring electricity to Massachusetts was rejected by 59 percent of Maine citizens who voted in a November referendum. The Maine Supreme Court is expected to rule on a constitutional challenge to the referendum. In the meantime, work has been suspended.

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The court is also due to rule on another challenge related to a permit for a 1.6-kilometre segment of the line, after a Maine Superior Court judge ruled the permits invalid.

Hydro-Québec expects rulings by the end of July in both cases and Abergel hopes to win both.

“We will let the justice dictate its decision, but we are convinced that a project that obtained its permits with a four-year process deserves to go ahead.”

Hydro-Québec’s Maine partner, New England Clean Energy Connect, has already spent nearly $450 million, about 43 percent of expected costs, according to court filings. If the project is abandoned, Hydro-Québec estimates that it will have to write off $536 million from its bottom line.

The Massachusetts contract would generate $10 billion in revenue over 20 years for Hydro-Québec and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by three million metric tons, the equivalent of taking 700,000 cars off the road.

No backup plan to bring electricity to Massachusetts has been identified.