Gov marks start of major clean energy project in Queens
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Governor Kathy Hochul marked the start of construction on the Champlain Hudson Power Express in Astoria on Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023. Photo by Mike Groll/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul
By Jacob Kaye
The governor was in Queens on Tuesday to announce the start of construction of a major clean energy project that will begin in Canada and end in Astoria.
A little over a year after construction on the 339-mile Champlain Hudson Power Express transmission line began in upstate New York, construction recently began on the site that will soon be the destination for hydropower making its way through New York State by way of Québec, Canada.
Governor Kathy Hochul was in Astoria at the Con Edison Astoria Yards Complex on Tuesday, to mark the ceremonial start of the project, which officially began in June.
“We are on the cusp of a transformation,” Hochul said. “When we talk about the reason we needed to have this transition to renewable energy, it is because of the ongoing assault of mankind against Mother Earth.”
“We are now living the effects of what has happened over decades, where people were not caring about what poison was being emitted into our waters, our streams, our air, and not caring about what is happening with all the discharges of carbon into our atmosphere,” the governor added. “But today, we're no longer sounding the alarm, the alarm went off decades ago – now people are finally paying attention.”
After being approved by the State Public Service Commission in April 2022, the Champlain Hudson Power Express is expected to be fully operational by 2026.
The power line will begin in Canada and make its way to the Western Queens energy site, where it will then be distributed to energy consumers throughout the city.
The project, which will be operated by public utility company Hydro-Québec, will be funded primarily by the state after the company was awarded a contract through the state’s first-of-its-kind renewable energy and transmission project, known as Tier 4, last year.
The CHPE is expected to deliver enough clean energy to power over one million homes, according to officials, who also say the project will reduce harmful emissions by 3.7 million metric tons – or the equivalent of taking around 44 percent of the cars that currently drive on New York City streets off the road.
Hochul added that she believes another benefit of the project is that it won’t interfere with the landscape of the state.
“The beauty of this project is you won't know it's there – this is all underground,” she said. “It's not going to go through our beautiful mountains, our beautiful rivers and streams, the wonderful beauty of upstate New York, people won't even know it's there. And yet, it's going to be able to take [over one million] homes and power them with clean energy.”
Construction in Queens began in June with remediation work required to prepare the site for construction of the zero-emissions facility.
Six oil tanks – each capable of storing 12 million gallons of oil – were removed from the site in recent months, as were nearly four miles of piping used to transport fossil fuels.
The Con Edison Astoria Yards Complex will be the future home of the final destination for hydropower traveling along the Champlain Hudson Power Express. Photo by Mike Groll/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul
“Shame on us if we're not going to take smart opportunities like Hydro-Québec being an opportunity for us to transition from fossil fuels,” the governor said.
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority President and CEO Doreen Harris said that embarking on the project marks a key part of “transforming New York State’s electricity grid.”
“The Champlain Hudson Power Express will not only reduce pollution and improve air quality in our most historically vulnerable communities — it also builds on our state’s progress toward realizing a just, equitable, and livable clean-energy economy while supporting the achievement of our ambitious Climate Act goals,” Harris said.
In addition to the construction announcement, Hochul also announced that the first of the money from the project’s Green Economy Fund – a $40 million fund created by Hydro-Québec and Transmission Developers – will soon be handed out.
The funds are directed by an advisory board made of local community members, workforce development professionals and environmental justice leaders.
In total, $750,000 will be handed out to four organizations – Pathways to Apprenticeship, Stacks +Joules, Nontraditional Employment for Women and the NYC District Council of Carpenters Apprenticeship Journeyman Retraining Educational & Industry Fund.
The funds will go to the organizations, all of which are primarily focused on workforce development and training programs that aim to create a more inclusive climate industry, bringing low-income New Yorkers into the growing industry.
The Green Economy Fund is now collecting requests for proposals for its 2024 set of awards to organizations operating training and development programs outside of New York City.
A map of the route the Champlain Hudson Power Express will take once construction on the clean energy project is completed. Map via Hydro-Québec
“We're focused on this transition to renewable energy, but also it's also about creating justice for communities that have had to endure the effects of asthma in children and families,” Hochul said, noting that Tuesday’s announcement was located in Astoria’s “Asthma Ally.”
“We talk about ‘Asthma Ally,’ that's not in some third world country, that's right here in Queens,” she said. “And this is an important step, a commitment by all of us to do what's right for the people of today, as well.”
