New York Plans Two Major Power Lines to Boost Climate Goals

(Bloomberg) -- New York plans to build two new major electricity transmission lines to help the state meet its ambitious climate goals, which include getting 70% of its power from renewable sources by the end of the decade. 

One line will run 174 miles (280 kilometers) from upstate New York’s Delaware County to Queens and will be built by the New York Power Authority, Invenergy LLC and EnergyRe LLC. Another will stretch 339 miles from Quebec to Queens and will be built by Hydro-Québec and Transmission Developers Inc., which is backed by Blackstone, according to a statement on Monday. 

Governor Kathy Hochul announced the projects during the Climate Week NYC event, which is happening ahead of the U.N. climate conference. The new transmission lines will supply New York City with electricity produced by wind, solar and hydropower projects as both New York state and the U.S. have set aggressive goals to cut back on planet-warming fossil fuels and transition to cleaner energy sources.

“Time’s slipping fast. If we’re going to save the planet, let’s save the planet now,” Hochul said at the event. 

The lines will move enough power for over 2.5 million homes and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 77 million metric tons over the next 15 years, which is equivalent to taking a million cars off the road, according to the statement. Both lines will be buried, making them more resilient to storms. Construction is expected to begin in 2025 for the line from Quebec and in 2027 for the line from Delaware County, pending regulatory approval.

Hochul also said the state wants to build at least 10 gigawatts of distributed solar power by 2030, expanding on the previous target of six gigawatts by 2025. 

“Our project delivers really attractively priced renewable energy,” Bilal Khan, a senior managing director at Blackstone Energy Partners, said in an interview Monday. “As other real estate owners look to go more green, we are a really attractive and affordable opportunity for them.”

For New York City developers and property owners, the transmission lines could provide some relief. The city instituted a stringent emissions cap in 2019, known as Local Law 97, that would require large buildings to cut carbon emissions by 40% by 2030.

With thousands of old buildings littering the city’s skyline, that’ll be a costly change: about $20 billion in retrofit costs alone, according to Urban Green Council. The electrical grid, which is largely powered by fossil fuels in Manhattan, also affects that equation.

“When we studied how Local Law 97 formulas were created, it was really dependent upon the makeup of the downstate grid,” Jeff Blau, Chief Executive Officer of Related Cos. and founding partner of EnergyRe, said in June. With this project, “it’s really providing a mechanism to bring newly produced renewables upstate to the downstate.”

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