history at a glance
- New York State approved contracts for two massive infrastructure projects that will allow the state to power its electric grid with clean, renewable energy.
- It includes a highly anticipated transmission line that will bring clean energy from Canada to New York.
- The state is trying to phase out its existing fossil fuel-burning power plant, which supplies nearly 90 percent of all New York’s electricity.
New York State has taken a major step to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels, announcing contracts for projects that will channel clean, renewable solar, wind and hydroelectric power from New York State to New York City.
Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) announced Thursday that the State Public Service Commission has approved contracts for the Clean Path NY project and the Champlain Hudson Power Express project. Both are set to reduce the city’s reliance on fossil fuels by more than 50 percent by 2030 and work toward a goal of sourcing 70 percent of the state’s electricity from renewable sources by 2030.
New York wants to have a zero-emission electricity grid by 2040.
Hochul’s office said both projects are expected to deliver $5.8 billion in statewide societal benefits and $8.2 billion in statewide economic developments.
By winning a Clean Path NY contract, the state is advancing an infrastructure plan that includes more than 20 wind and solar energy projects, including a 175-mile underground transmission line. This means that New York should be able to supply more than 7.5 million megawatt hours of emission-free energy every year.
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The Champlain Hudson Power Express project is a highly anticipated transmission line that will connect New York State to Hydro-Québec, a Canadian electric company that generates nearly 100 percent of its energy from renewable resources – meaning it has little or no greenhouse gas emissions gives.
The project will provide a reliable, year-round source of clean, renewable hydroelectric power and help New York phase out existing fossil-fuel power plants, which currently provide nearly 90 percent of all the state’s electricity.
Within the first ten years of the Champlain Hudson Power Express project, 37 million tons of CO2 emission reductions are expected nationwide – the equivalent of removing more than half a million cars from New York’s streets.
“Today’s vote is a victory for New York and advances a project that will create thousands of jobs across the state, reduce harmful pollutants and invest nearly $189 million in protecting our environment, our neighborhoods and our planet – and that all while providing renewable, reliable, power,” said Donald Jessome, CEO of Transmission Developers, one of the companies involved in the project, in a statement.
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) says getting permission to build new transmission lines is one of the biggest challenges facing the country’s power grid. Many of the existing transmission and distribution lines were built in the early 1900’s and now need to be replaced or upgraded.
New power lines are needed not only to keep the power grids running, but also to provide connections to new renewable energy sources – like wind and solar power, which are often far removed from concentrated electricity needs.
In January, the EIA announced that solar power will account for almost half of new power generation capacity in the US this year alone. Most planned solar additions expected in 2022 will be in Texas at 28 percent of the national total, followed by California.
Wind power is also projected to grow this year, with the EIA noting that about half of the wind capacity expansions in 2022 will be in Texas. Last month, Oklahoma announced that one of the largest wind farms built in North America was commissioned, supplying wind power to customers in the state and in the neighboring areas of Arkansas and Louisiana.
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Released April 15, 2022