Project to boost energy flow from Mohawk Valley to Capital region

MARCY, N.Y. — Crews have started work on an $854 million project to upgrade energy transmission along a 345-kilovolt line between the Mohawk Valley and the Capital region.

The 93-mile, Marcy to New Scotland transmission-upgrade project is designed to increase transmission capacity and help deliver more renewable energy to higher-demand areas across the state. 

Marcy is located near Utica and New Scotland is in Albany County.

In addition, the project will “stimulate the local and regional economies by creating and supporting hundreds of clean energy construction jobs,” the office of Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. The governor highlighted the project in his 2021 State of the State address.

The rebuilt transmission lines are expected to be in service by the end of 2023, the New York Power Authority (NYPA) tells CNYBJ in an email.

The project — managed jointly by New York City–based LS Power Grid New York and NYPA — puts New York “on track to meet its goals” under the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, Cuomo’s office said in a news release. The goals include a zero-emissions electricity sector by 2040 and 70 percent renewable-energy generation by 2030, and economy-wide carbon neutrality. 

“We’re thrilled to mark the start of construction on this project, which plays a critical role in supporting the state’s clean energy plans,” Paul Segal, CEO of LS Power, said.

This effort seeks to upgrade 93 miles of transmission lines and includes construction of two new substations between NYPA’s central transmission hub in Marcy and New Scotland. The project uses existing electric-transmission corridors and replaces “aging and outdated” transmission towers with the “latest technologies to increase energy efficiency.” 

The New York State Public Service Commission approved a certificate of environmental compatibility and public need for the project at its Jan. 21 meeting. 

Cuomo first unveiled the proposal in his 2021 State of the State as part of a package of transmission projects across the state that will form what his office is calling “New York’s Green Energy Superhighway” — 250 miles of “planned investments that will create opportunities to maximize the use of renewable energy for parts of the state that rely heavily on fossil-fuel plants.”