Gov. Andrew Cuomo on May 21 announced $28 million in funding to begin work on a “major” new transmission upgrade project in the Mohawk Valley and Capital Region. The project stems from a proposal submitted by New York City–based LS Power Grid New York and the New York Power Authority to “improve reliability and provide better […]
Gov. Andrew Cuomo on May 21 announced $28 million in funding to begin work on a “major” new transmission upgrade project in the Mohawk Valley and Capital Region.
The project stems from a proposal submitted by New York City–based LS Power Grid New York and the New York Power Authority to “improve reliability and provide better access” to renewable energy through a “key corridor” along New York’s transmission system, Cuomo’s office said in a news release.
NYPA’s board of trustees awarded its share of the initial funding for the project at its May 21 meeting. NYPA has a minority interest in the effort.
“These transmission upgrades are a vital piece of New York’s clean-energy future focused on a secure, clean and reliable energy infrastructure,” Cuomo said. “Climate change requires a coordinated approach toward achieving our clean energy goals and this investment will help keep our energy system secure for years to come.”
LS Power is planning to submit an application to construct the project to the New York Public Service Commission (PSC) in the second half of 2019.
Following a “full” PSC review and authorization — including numerous opportunities for additional public participation — the state expects the rebuilt transmission lines will be in service by the end of 2023.
Founded in 1990, LS Power is an employee-owned, independent power company with offices in New York, New Jersey, Missouri, California, and Texas. The firm describes itself as a “developer, owner, operator and investor in power generation and electric transmission infrastructure throughout the United States.”
The project
It’s known as LS Power Grid New York’s Marcy to New Scotland transmission upgrade project.
NYISO on April 8 selected the project in response to a “competitive solicitation process,” calling for transmission projects along this corridor that would “relieve transmission congestion and facilitate greater statewide access to renewable energy,” Cuomo’s office said.
“The NYPA board of trustees’ action is another step forward in realizing New York’s clean energy highway,” Gil Quiniones, president and CEO of NYPA, said in Cuomo’s release. “This transmission project is part of several other vital transmission upgrades taking place across New York State. Together, these projects will help ensure that energy from renewable-rich areas of Western and Northern New York will have a reliable path to consumers and help meet New York State’s aggressive clean-energy goals.”
The project involves upgrades along about 100 miles of transmission lines and the construction of two new substations between NYPA’s central transmission hub in Marcy and New Scotland in Albany County.
The project seeks to use existing electric-transmission corridors. Replacing “aging and outdated” transmission towers with the latest technologies will enable “more efficient energy flow while reducing the number of transmission structures,” the state said.
Some of the targeted transmission towers are “more than 60 years old,” Cuomo’s office noted.
The announced funding will cover NYPA’s share of the costs of permitting, licensing, engineering, property acquisition, and interconnection agreements.