Hertel–New York Interconnection PUBLIC CONSULTATION • May 2013 Project description Hydro-Québec TransÉnergie has asked Hydro-Québec Équipement et services partagés to carry out a draft-design study for the construction of an approximately 50-km long, 320-kV underground direct- current (DC) line between Hertel substation (in La Prairie) and the U.S. border (near Lac Champlain). The project also includes a converter at Hertel substation, which will convert alternating current to direct current to supply the new interconnection. On the U.S. side, the Champlain Hudson Power Express (CHPE) project will supply New York City with energy coming from Canada. The project includes plans to build an underground and underwater DC line between the Canada–U.S. border and New York City, spanning some 530 km. ■■ What is direct current? Hertel substation converter Direct current is unidirectional, which means The project includes the installation of a converter at Hertel the electrons always move in the same substation, on Hydro-Québec property. direction. A good example is a battery, where It will convert alternating current to direct current, which will a chemical reaction triggers a movement of flow directly to New York through the underground line. electrons in one direction inside the conductor: 2 from the negative to the positive terminal The conversion equipment will be installed in a new 6,000 m building located in the planned expansion area of the battery. In alternating current, by compa- rison, the electrons move back and forth. The conventional switchgear needed to connect the converter to the 735-kV system will be erected within the existing ■■ Why a direct-current line? substation and planned expansion area. The technology used to transmit direct current is not the most common. However, in projects such as this one, it can be advantageous for transmitting power over long distances and for connecting systems that aren’t synchronized, for example connecting the Québec power Planned Chemin Lafrenière system with grids in the U.S. expansion zone ■■ Why an underground line? Hertel substation At Hydro-Québec, environmental, social, technical and economic criteria are taken into consideration in all studies for generation CN Railway and transmission projects. In the case of transmission projects, once all these aspects are factored in, the decision is usually in favor 0 200 m of the construction of overhead lines. 7331_bu_hq_016_ic_agran_130429a.mxd In the case of the Hertel–New York intercon- nection, however, the geological conditions of the study area, combined with the technology chosen and its reasonable cost, allow the simple undergrounding of the line over a long distance, without the addition of other electrical equipment on the surface. Project Web site: www.hydroquebec.com/hertel-new-york/en 2 Technical characteristics The line will consist of two cables, each 115 mm (4.5 in.) in diameter, buried directly in a trench about 1 m wide and 1.5 m deep. The trench will be covered with a concrete slab, and above that, two warning tapes will be laid all along the trench To ensure communication between Hertel substation and the New York facilities, a fibre-optic cable will run alongside the power cables. A 4-m wide right-of-way is needed to operate the line. Once the line is commissioned, traffic can resume in the right-of-way and farmland can be cultivated again. Typical excavation 0.9 m Slope depending Backfill in on type of soil accordance with environment 1.5 m Warning tape 0.9 m Concrete slab Fine sand Optical fibre Power cable Stone bed 0.9 m 7331_bu_hq_015_coupetype_130423.ai 3 Study area Line route development Hydro-Québec has delineated a study In an underground line project, although environmental area in which to develop potential line considerations are always taken into account, the line routes, and has conducted general analyses routing criteria have mainly to do with technical factors (underground space, presence of other infrastructure, and inventories within that area. clearance, etc.). The environmental impacts are mostly With a surface area of 793 km2, the study related to the construction work. area stretches north to Hertel substation, In developing the potential routes, Hydro-Québec applied west to just past Highway 15, south to the following criteria: the U.S. border and east to the Rivière Richelieu (which is excluded). It crosses • Run the line along an existing linear axis (road, railway, etc.) the territories of three regional county to limit impacts on property municipalities (MRCs): Roussillon, • Ensure easy access to the jobsite to reduce inconvenience Le Haut-Richelieu and Les Jardins-de- Napierville. • Preserve woodlands wherever possible Most of the study area is on private • Limit the impacts of construction on local residents property. Because of the exceptional climatic conditions and highly arable soil, Using the technical and economic criteria and taking over 75% of the study area is farmland. into account the preliminary results of the environmental inventories, Hydro-Québec studied several potential line Except for the urban perimeters, the routes. One route stands out among all those considered. entire study area is on protected From Hertel substation, the route runs south along an agricultural lands. existing 735-kV line right-of-way until it meets Highway 15. Two options are then possible: • In Variant 1, the line continues south alongside Highway 15 1 for 31 km, up to Exit 6. Then it runs along the Highway 202 right-of-way up to the junction with Highway 221, where it turns south again and runs along that highway down to the U.S. border. • In Route Variant 2, the line continues south alongside 2 Highway 15 for 36 km, up to Exit 1. There it turns east and runs along Montée Guay in Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle and Lacolle, ending at the U.S. border. The exact crossover point remains to be determined In addition to avoiding all urban cores, this route offers easy access for construction work and would have only a low impact on agricultural operations. More detailed environmental inventories and engineering work will make it possible to round out the evaluation of this route and to determine which of the variants to select. 4 # # # Project overview t n # Chambly V ) 73°30' 73°20' l, e r La Prairie substation Marieville substation a r Longueuil Study arePaoste d 'Ivaco Limitée é u e Marieville tr a iv n L R o t- (TÉ) Brossard, V La Vallée-du- M n e Monnoir ai c 134 Infrastructure S n e re La Citière substation v w y, V Marieville, V Fleu a # Richelieu (MRC) ambl Highway t. L Ch (S La Prairie # Hertel 10 Provincial highway substation Rouviilllle ((MRC)) V C S, econdary or tertiary road ar u Candiac i e # 30 g i 132 V n l - a Carignan, V , n e n , Substations and power transmission lines u V h Roussillon a # e c L e i i a l Delson J # S P R substation - e 120 kV a ra t substation in ir h t i n c -P e i i 35 , # Delson h V a il R 315 kV ip S - p r D Roussillon e Saint-Luc els , u # M s 104 sector 735 kV C Saint on, (MRC) ons V tan - Saint- Boundaries t , V Philippe CN 15 V R Regional county municipality (MRC) c, C a ia P R ilw d ailw a or equivalent territory (TÉ) an ay y ' C 0 Municipality 2 ° R 5 104 u Saint-Jean- 4 i Saint- s R Project components y s i sur-Richelieu ur e v le Mathieu i B a è au u r ProposedM roseute e # Iberville isontré S Ru al, Ma ine a 209 a At nd # lan i substation tic Ca n S L'Acadie # Variant 1 nada t- A a i Richelieu n n substation d t Iberville Variant 2 r - substation é J sector Sain a Saint-Jean t-Mat c hie q e u, M i u s 219 sector r e d Mont-Saint-Grégoire, M e e s a n i y l c o a A s - V N ' n , a L Le Haut-Richelieu s a u L Saint-Jacques- e e e e u d i r J l a le-Mineur - u iè (MRC) t e e a v n h s i i e c s a i i - s R s R u s i S - R e u r M R u u , s r q c u a e J n Saint- - i M t , n M Édouard M l M i - P Saint-Alexandre e , a e , l - , h d e S r e r c s i i a n 217 d d u o M n n u - v t o e a A S d e n u - x i t r É e r u e a b - t t l o d a S n T A n 219 i i - S e a t a a - r l C Sainte-Anne- n S S P e è i i e R d Saint-Blaise- a de-Sabrevois 40 Lac v d a S i 221 ilw a S sur-Richelieu R e i Saint-Pierre a n r y t- è B i la y iv is a w e l R - i 219 s a u u Montréal QUÉBEC R Sherbrooke r e - i R l Napierville, M i N Hertel substation M c C e # - - h Ottawa e , M e h n Henryville, M 221 # l c c n , i 10 i e e i r o i e u t t r l R l , 15 a g p i M ONTARIO 55 ' ' Napierville n y v e 0 P i r 0 - r r ADA 1 C CAN 1 t e r è - i substation ° ° n t i i e p 5 5 n v h 4 i Lac 4 a i a 221 UNITED STATES S S a 91 N R ¨¦§ - - 133 S Cha2m27plain e 223 e Sherrington d Plattsburgh d Saint-Paul-de- (Lake Champlain) Burlington 219 l'Île-aux-Noix, M Les Jardins-de- k Henryville c R a Napierville (MRC) ui l sseau Lan NEW YORK dry # B e ¨¦§93 g M r VERMONT a , Saint-Valentin x Saint-Sébastien h n i u u c a t o R é l 87 substation n l ¨¦§ d i e a l e a d M n V ¨¦§89 - a t r n i G a Henryville, M Saint-Sébastien, M S Venise-en-Québec, M Noyan, M Saint-Georges- NEW 15 ¨¦§90 HAMPSHIRE Saint-Bernard- de-Clarenceville, M Lacolle de-Lacolle 225 M Albany # , Venise-en-Québec e l l ¨¦§88 Boston 202 r o MASSACHUSETTS e e l c 202 Dairy Valley l P v a Domaine-Omer-Alix i , o T L e c R l 95 C l a e 90 ¨¦§ l La Palestine ¨¦§ o L t n , e it d c iè r L o r iv a R 221 u s o a L e f s d CONNECTICUT - uis Brome-Missisquoi (MRC) g R Brome-Misu sisquoi (MRC) e GClloareian Vceilvlailgle-Est n i d H - Hartford m d r m a Noyan 219 e n r 217 84 H ¨¦§ e B - Crossover zone t n i under study Plage-Desranleau nd a ou CANADA nd S S ¨¦§80 Isla Long ' ' Lac Champlain 0 0 TED STATES NEW JERSEY UNI ° ° 0 2 4 km 5 5 (Lake Champlain) 4 4 New York 7331_bu_tem_010_info_consult_130507a.mxd NEW YORK Rouses Point VERMONT 0 50 km 73°20' 73°10' 73°30' Champlain Document for information purposes only.