The U.S. Department of Energy on Thursday issued its final environmental impact statement for a 154-mile high-voltage transmission line that would run beneath Lake Champlain.
The $1.2 billion, 1,000 megawatt transmission line, proposed by TDI New England and known as the New England Clean Power Link, would carry hydroelectric and wind power generated in Canada to metropolitan energy markets in the Northeast.
The DOE released a draft version of the EIS in June, which found little environmental concern. The finalization of the EIS serves as a “Presidential permit that would authorize the construction, operation, and maintenance of the Project, which would cross the United States–Canada border,” the Department of Energy said in a news release.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Coast Guard worked to produce the report, the release said.
TDI New England expects to have permits in place by the end of this year and construction is expected to begin in 2016. The transmission line is expected to begin operation in 2019.
TDI has pledged $720 million over 40 years to the state for lake protection and consumer benefits.
“We are confident that, once built, the New England Clean Power Link will deliver environmental and economic benefits to the people of Vermont and New England and do so in a way that minimizes impacts to communities and helps meet the region’s growing energy and environmental challenges,” TDI New England’s CEO Donald Jessome said in the release.
To read the EIS, click here.
