Press Release: Diverse Coalition Shows Widespread Support for Landmark CHPE Renewable Energy Project

Diverse Coalition Shows Widespread Support 

for Landmark CHPE Renewable Energy Project

If Public Service Commission Approves Contract, CHPE Will Reduce NYC’s Current 90% Dependence on Fossil Fuels by 25%; Cut Air Pollutant Equivalent of 15 of NYC’s 16 Peakers

CHPE Will Create 1,400 Good Jobs; Spark $1.4B in Investment in NYS Communities

Environmental Leaders, Organized Labor, Dozens of NY Elected Officials Support CHPE

*New Poll*: 65% of NYers Back CHPE, Across Demographic Groups and NYS Regions

New York – February 15, 2022 – As New York State transitions from fossil fuels to clean energy, the landmark renewable energy project Champlain Hudson Power Express (CHPE) is ready to power New Yorkers into the future with clean, renewable hydropower.

The significant economic, environmental and societal benefits provided by CHPE are driving this enormous outpouring of support.

• The project is fully-permitted and shovel-ready, with construction to begin in 2022 – a critical timetable with the closure of Indian Point, and other clean energy projects still years from implementation.
• NYS carbon emissions per MWh (megawatt-hour) have actually increased 8.5% in the last 5 years – underscoring the need to move CHPE along and begin fossil fuel replacement.
• CHPE will also eliminate the air pollutant equivalent of 15 of NYC’s 16 peaker plants.  New York City still uses fossil fuels for nearly 90% of its power, and if we are going to truly fight climate change, we need clean energy alternatives like CHPE to lead the way.
• CHPE will bring safe, secure, affordable, clean power to 1 million New York City homes, create 1400 family-sustaining jobs and spark $1.4 billion in investment in local New York communities in the process.

CHPE has received more than 1,000 letters of support from New Yorkers from every walk of life over the entire life of the project.  A comprehensive memo detailing the diverse network of support can be reviewed, and important highlights appear below:

Environmental Organizations and Academic Institutions

• 16 letters from organizations advancing  environmental awareness and support in NYS, including: NYLCV, Citizens Campaign for the Environment, and Urban Green Council
• 9 letters from prestigious New York higher-education academic institutions

Organized Labor and Business Organizations 

• 8 letters of support from  leadership of NYS labor unions including: NYS Laborers, Operating Engineers, IBEW, ELEC & Building and Trades
  • More than 700 letters from individual members of NY Laborers
• 8 letters from NYS Chambers of Commerce, and the New York State Business Council

Tribal, Municipal and Elected Official Support

• New York Governor Kathy Hochul has included CHPE in the state’s official agenda to address Climate Change
• Support from the Mohawk Council of the Kahnawake First Nation, a full partner in the project
• 38 resolutions of municipal support from villages, cities, towns all along the project route
• 13 letters of support from NYS county industrial development agencies
• 18 letters of support from  elected officials across New  York State

The General Public

CHPE also received more than 130 letters of support from members of the general public who care deeply about the environment and New York’s future.  In addition, a new opinion poll just released shows that CHPE enjoys broad, strong public support across the state. The survey of 500 New Yorkers in late January and early February found:

• 65% of all New Yorkers support the Champlain Hudson Power Express, with just 12% opposed.
• There is strong support for CHPE across every demographic group tested, including gender (72% support among men, 59% among women) and race and ethnicity (70% support among Black respondents, 69% among Hispanic respondents, and 63% among white respondents).
• Support for the Champlain Hudson Power Express is also strong in diverse regions across the state, with large majorities upstate (57%), in the Hudson River Valley (62%), and in New York City (74%) all voicing support for the project.

About the Champlain Hudson Power Express 

The CHPE project involves the construction of an entirely underground and underwater transmission line spanning approximately 339 miles between the Canada–U.S. border and New York City. Once built CHPE will deliver clean hydropower. The permitted CHPE is estimated to create more than 1,400 jobs during construction, with a commitment to use union labor.

About Hydro-Québec

Hydro-Québec is the largest renewable energy producer in North America. For decades, the company has been a reliable energy partner for New York, providing clean power to the State in support of its clean energy and reliability needs. In order to source the CHPE, Hydro-Québec will expand its transmission grid in Québec, from the Hertel substation to the Québec-New York border.

About TDI

TDI (Transmission Developers Inc.), a Blackstone portfolio company, has spent a decade meticulously developing with local stakeholders the N.Y. portion of the project and its 339-mile route. The solid-state buried cable will travel a route through Lake Champlain, the Hudson and Harlem Rivers and terrestrially on railroad rights of way and roads until it reaches a converter station in Astoria, Queens where its clean energy will be distributed into New York City.

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