Hitachi Energy has won a supply contract for a high-voltage direct current (HVDC) converter station that is a key part of a 600km (372-mile) underground transmission line project that will deliver hydropower-backed electricity from Quebec, Canada, to the New York City metropolitan area.–
Hitachi and Transmission Developers, a Blackstone portfolio company and majority owner of Champlain Hudson Power Express (CHPE), did not release contract details of the order for the up-to-1.25GW capacity facility.
The converter station, to be built in Astoria, Queens, one of five boroughs in New York City, will convert the power sent from Canada by TransEnergie, a division of Hydro-Quebec, to alternating current power for the local electric grid. Hydro-Quebec is a minority project partner.
Engineering, procurement, and construction contractor Kiewit will be responsible for civil works for the HVDC station.
“HVDC systems have tremendous potential for bringing large amounts of electricity directly into cities, which is essential for securing sustainable and affordable power today and in the future,” said Niklas Persson, managing director of Hitachi Energy’s grid integration business.
CHPE will run underground with 60% of the US route passing beneath Lake Champlain and the Hudson, Harlem, and East Rivers, and 40% mostly under railroad right-of-way via a pair of five-inch (127mm) diameter lines.
“We look forward to beginning construction activity later this year and to delivering an abundance of clean, renewable energy to New Yorkers,” said Transmission Developers CEO Donald Jessome. The project is expected to be fully operational in 2026.
CHPE is among the longest underground power line projects in the US and is expected to decrease CO2 emissions by an average of 3.9 million metric tons per year, equivalent to removing 44% of passenger vehicles from New York City.
New York’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act aims for the state to be powered 70% by renewable energy by 2030 versus 29% in 2019, the last year for which data is available.
