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Greenies Count on Hydro-Quebec Electricity To Provide Backup for Their Inefficient Renewables Plan for NYC
8 October 2021
EIRNS—Blackstone, the world’s largest alternative asset [sic] manager, through its wholly-owned Transmission Developers Inc. (TDI), was selected by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to deliver “renewable power” to New York City, reported Business Wire on September 20. TDI will be responsible for building the fully buried Champlain Hudson Power Express (CHPE) transmission line on the New York State-side, starting at the United States border- crossing with the province of Quebec. The distance is 339 miles to Astoria, near the Queens Borough. The CHPE will become a major contributor to achieving the goals of the Albany Legislature’s “Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act” (CLCPA) signed into law in July, 2019. It was touted by the coalition of environmentalists, who lobbied for this Malthusian deindustrialization atrocity, as “the nation’s most progressive climate law.” CLPCA mandates that by 2030 New York State will be 70% powered by renewables and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduced to 40% below 1990 levels. By 2050 NY State must have reduced GHG emissions by 85% below 1990 levels. Starting in early 2022, Hydro-Quebec, the province of Quebec-owned utility, will also partner with the Mohawk community near Montreal (Kahnawake) and build the Quebec component of CHPE, a new transmission line from Montreal to the U.S. border. That electricity is produced in the large dam complexes that were built by Bechtel and Hydro-Quebec in the 1970’s and 1980’s in the far north region of the Quebec province. Once fully completed, the 1,250-megawatt (MW) project will be able to power more than 1 million homes. Hydro-Quebec is presently negotiating with NYC authorities for a 25-year contract at a cost of around $20 billion. By 2025, CHPE will begin to replace fossil generation in the NYC region, which is today more than 85-percent reliant on fossil fuel-based electricity. TDI calculates that CHPE will contribute 28% to achieving New York City’s greenhouse gas reduction-target by 2030. Gary Sutherland, director of strategic affairs and stakeholder relations for Hydro-Québec, let the cat out of the bag when he confessed to the Financial Post, “This is the future of this northeast region, as New York state and New England are decarbonizing,” said Sutherland. “The only renewable energies they can put on the grid are intermittent, so they’re going to need this backup and right to the north of them, they’ve got Hydro-Quebec as backup.” [gilles gervais]
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