Champlain Hudson Power Express gets Army Corps permit

The Champlain Hudson Power Express, an electric transmission line proposed from Quebec to New York, has completed its federal permitting process according to project developer Transmission Developers Inc.

Project developer TDI is a Blackstone portfolio company, with an apparent focus on HVDC lines.  First proposed in 2008, the current incarnation of the Champlain Hudson Power Express is a 333-mile high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line to be installed underground and underwater, from the U.S.-Canada border to New York City, running down Lake Champlain and parts of the Hudson River.  The line is slated to be able to import up to 1,000 megawatts of power from Canada to the U.S. 

In a press release issued last month, TDI announced that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has issued a permit that allows the Champlain Hudson Power Express project to be placed in waters of the United States along its proposed route.  The permit authorizes TDI to construct the project pursuant to Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act and Section 404 of the Clean Water Act.

According to TDI, the Army Corps permit represents the final federal or state permit necessary to begin construction.  According to the permit, the work authorized must be completed by December 30, 2019.