New England's New Hydropower Transmission Line
When the New England Clean Energy Connect transmission line started carrying electricity from Canada into Maine in January, supporters hailed the project as a triumph for renewable power. Now, after nearly six months of operations, the early numbers raise questions about whether the project will be able to advance the region's energy transition as much as advertised.
Energy flow into New England is up just marginally, and there have been roughly 27 days when no power at all traveled along the new line, commonly called NECEC. If current trends hold, New England will receive less hydropower this year over two transmission lines than it did over just one line in 2023 and previous years.
How Much Hydropower is Coming from Quebec?
When NECEC came online earlier this year, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, a Democrat, and climate advocates touted it as a major win for the state's renewable energy goals and a way to save residents money on their utility bills. Massachusetts contracted with Hydro-Québec for 9.55 terawatt-hours of hydropower per year, roughly 20 percent of the state's annual electricity demand.
The operations have not had the smoothest start. NECEC was completely inactive for several spans — from a half day on April 28 to nearly two weeks at the end of May and beginning of June. The most recent outage was due to "technical difficulties," Hydro-Québec spokesperson Lynn St-Laurent said in a written statement.
Over time, New England already imported significant amounts of hydropower on a transmission line known as Phase 2, which runs from Quebec into central Massachusetts. In 2019, the year Massachusetts regulators approved the contracts between utilities and Hydro-Québec, more than 12 terawatt-hours traveled onto the New England grid over the line.
Power Imports and Exports
The main driver behind slowing exports seems to be the drought conditions that have lingered in Quebec for the past few years. During wetter periods, the hydropower industry uses large reservoirs to store water to help it ride out these drier times, said Gilbert Bennett, a senior adviser for WaterPower Canada, a hydropower trade group.
As generators wait for rainier days, their first obligation is to supply domestic customers, he said. That means there will likely be times when Hydro-Québec needs to import electricity over the Phase 2 line to offset some of the hydropower it is contractually obliged to send to Massachusetts over NECEC.
Source / Reference: Grist