Hydro-Québec’s plan to deliver electricity to New York State is not likely to face the same obstacles as the interconnection line in Maine, believes the chief operating officer of the American subsidiary of the state company, Serge Abergel.
One of the reasons is that the State of New York does not have a referendum process which can question a project, as is the case in Maine, explains the leader of Hydro-Quebec Energy Services in an interview, on the sidelines of a presentation at the Conference of Montreal on Tuesday. He also points out that the New York project has all the necessary permits to carry out the construction which would allow commissioning in 2025.
Mr. Abergel does not claim victory for all that for this contract which could generate revenues of $20 billion over 25 years and supply the equivalent of a million homes with electricity. “I have fears for all the projects, he admits. I want to be clear, it’s not because there is a specific threat, but it’s our job to be proactive. We don’t take anything for granted. »
The Hydro-Quebec project also enjoys strong support from communities suffering from the effects of air pollution linked to the production of fossil energy that the State of New York wants to replace with clean sources of supply, advances Mr. Abergel.
He gave the example of auxiliary thermal power plants around New York City. The air pollution they produce particularly affects the Queens borough on the island of Manhattan. The population has given the name of “asthma corridor” to certain underprivileged areas.
“It’s the place in the United States that has the highest rate of asthma due to local air pollution,” said Mr. Abergel during his presentation. People have stepped up and said they are tired of this environmental discrimination. »
Awaiting a judgment from the Court
The situation is more uncertain for the Maine interconnection line project. The 336 kilometer project that would cross Quebec and the American state to bring electricity to Massachusetts was rejected by 59% by the citizens of Maine during a referendum last November.
The future of the project is in the hands of the Supreme Court of Maine, which will have to determine whether the result of the referendum is unconstitutional, as claimed by Hydro-Québec and its partners. Until then, work is suspended.
The Supreme Court of Maine must also rule on another determining cause for the project. Permits for a portion of the 1.6 kilometer line are also in dispute. A Maine Superior Court judge struck down the permits in question granted by the government in 2014. The judgment is under appeal.
Hydro-Québec anticipates a judgment by the end of July for the two cases, which would probably be rendered at the same time. Mr. Abergel says he is hopeful of winning the case. “We will let the Court render its decision, but we remain convinced that a project which obtained its permits after four years of process deserves to go ahead. »
Hydro-Québec’s partner in Maine, NECEC, has already spent nearly US$450 million, which represents 43% of the anticipated costs, according to documents filed in court. If the project were to be abandoned, Hydro-Québec estimates, for its part, that it will have to record a charge of $536 million in its results, according to its annual report.
The electricity sales contract with Massachusetts would bring in revenues of $10 billion over 20 years for Hydro-Québec. It would reduce greenhouse gases by 3 million metric tons, the equivalent of taking 700,000 cars off the road.
Pending the judgment, the state-owned company has not identified an alternative way to carry out its export project to Massachusetts. Making another route would require another Massachusetts bidding process, “in Mr. Abergel’s understanding.” “There is no flexibility to recycle this call for tenders to have another project. »