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National Grid says Biden-backed transmission line ‘not viable’

National Grid says Biden-backed transmission line ‘not viable’
(Image by Pexels from Pixabay)

by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Beacon

National Grid and Citizens Energy are pulling the plug on a proposed $2 billion two-way transmission line linking New England and Quebec that had received financial backing from the Biden administration.

A source familiar with the situation said National Grid and Citizens Energy were unable to line up buyers for the transmission line’s power even though the U.S. Department of Energy had committed to purchasing a large chunk of the project’s electricity output.

In a statement, National Grid said it was grateful for the support of DOE. “Unfortunately, National Grid has determined that the project is not viable at this time,” the statement said. “National Grid thanks the dozens of route communities and regional partners who engaged with us and supported this project. We will continue to pursue paths to building much-needed transmission capacity for the region and for our customers and communities.”

Joe Kennedy III, the president of Citizens Energy, said in a statement that he respected National Grid’s decision. “We’re grateful for the Biden administration’s leadership in advancing renewable power and green transmission, and will continue to seek opportunities where green infrastructure development can help meet the urgent need to help marginalized communities and build a cleaner grid,” he said.

A spokesperson for Hydro-Quebec, the provincial utility of Quebec, was not aware of National Grid’s decision. The spokesperson noted no agreement was in place on the “export neutral project.”

Editor’s Note: The Twin States Clean Energy Link is a proposed 1,200 MW high-voltage direct current (HVDC) bidirectional line that is meant to expand the capacity of the New England electric grid and improve its resiliency, reliability and efficiency by providing access to clean firm energy supplies – primarily hydropower — in Quebec, Canada.

The Twin States Clean Energy Link was considered a novel transmission line because it sought to transmit electricity in both directions – energy going from New England to Quebec when the region had a surplus and electricity flowing to New England when Quebec had a surplus.

The Biden administration made a financial commitment to the project last year along with two other two-way transmission line initiatives – one linking Nevada and Utah and the other linking New Mexico and Arizona. The awards, totaling $1.3 billion, came from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s transmission facilitation program.

The federal funding represented an upfront commitment to purchase power from the projects if buyers for all of the power could not be found. Even with that support, apparently not enough buyers could be found to make the Twin States project viable.

The decision by National Grid leaves New England with only one transmission line to Quebec under construction. That project, called New England Clean Energy Connect, is being financed by Massachusetts electric ratepayers. It has encountered enormous hurdles, including passage of a law blocking the project, but is now back on track in the wake of a Maine Supreme Court decision.

Unlike the above-ground New England Clean Energy Connect, the Twin States transmission line was going to run mostly underground. The line was planned to cross the Quebec border into Vermont at Canaan, travel 75 miles south underground along the Connecticut River, then go underneath the river into New Hampshire near Dalton. From there it was slated to travel 26 miles underground to Monroe, where it would join an existing above-ground right-of-way to Londonderry.

Citizens Energy planned to put up 10% of the capital for the Twin States project and use the estimated $100 million in profits it was expecting over 30 years to help communities along the route decarbonize. Citizens Energy and National Grid said they planned a total of $260 million in investments in the communities along the route.

“We really think that this can become a model for how transmission infrastructure can be built,” Kennedy told CommonWealth Beacon in October.

This article first appeared on CommonWealth Beacon and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.