Work has begun on the Champlain/Hudson Power Express project. The project will deliver approximately $6 billion worth of hydroelectric power from Canada to New York City along the entire length of Lake Champlain and the Hudson River (more than 330 miles). TDI, the company laying the cable, is currently working around the clock to bury the transmission line that will carry more than 1250 megawatts of renewable electricity to New York City.
The lead project manager says installation of the transmission line has begun at the northern tip of the lake near Rouses Point and is being done in 12-mile sections around the clock. The work to bury the cable in Lake Champlain will last through the end of the year. As they approach Plattsburgh, they will avoid disruption to ferry traffic on the lake and follow a pre-determined course that keeps the barges away from the historic shipwrecks on the lake floor.
Meg Modley of the Patrick Leahy Lake Champlain Basin Program says the project will provide more than $100 million in restoration funds to environmental groups that will be released over the next 35 years. At Lake Champlain, the money will help preserve fish habitat and combat invasive species like the black-mouthed goby, which is slowly approaching the lake.
The project is expected to be operational by May 2026 and will supply electricity to New York City.
