Just how big is Quebec’s “green battery” of hydropower? When you add up the surface area of utility giant Hydro-Quebec’s dozens of dammed reservoirs, they are bigger than the Adirondack Park’s six million acres. One impoundment is four times the size of Lake Champlain. Another is 55 times the size of Lake George.
The staggering scale of Canadian hydropower resources underscores the potential of the Champlain Hudson Power Express transmission line in helping New York reach its ambitious goal of emissions-free electricity by 2040. But it is also a powerful reminder of the harm done to Indigenous people whose lives and communities were upturned by the construction of dams across northern Canada.
Now, due to a multi-billion dollar contract with Hydro-Quebec approved by the state Public Service Commission last month, CHPE developers say they are ready to start construction of the transmission line this summer. Likely in 2024, barges will be seen on Lake Champlain for months at a time, gradually laying a cable at the bottom of the lake for 100 miles.
I dug into the history and future of the transmission line – and the scores of arguments for and against it – in our latest edition of the magazine. In one story, I focused on the overall project and the long-debated question of whether Article 14 protections extend underwater (answer: state officials don’t think so, citing a 1918 attorney general opinion). In a second story, I explored the scale of Canadian hydropower and the historical harm to Indigenous communities that rely on the waterways that produce so much power.
The two stories highlight the complicated tradeoffs at the center of New York’s planned transition away from fossil fuel – “green” and renewable doesn’t always mean low impact. As one energy expert told me, a less-than-ideal project may be better than no project.
Photo: A view of Lake Champlain’s Snake Den Harbor and beyond toward Vermont from Split Rock Wild Forest. Photo by Mike Lynch
Editor’s note: This first appeared in Zach’s weekly “Water Line” newsletter. Click here to sign up.