MONTREAL -- Hydro-Québec has announced that it now has all the necessary authorizations to build and eventually operate the Appalachian-Maine interconnection line between Saint-Adrien-d'Irlande, Quebec and Lewiston, Maine.
The company stated Friday the Canada Energy Regulator (REC) has issued its permit, paving the way to connect to the New England Clean Energy Connect (NECEC), which has been under construction since last February.
Hydro-Québec says it is counting on the NECEC to deliver 9.45 terawatt-hours of hydroelectricity per year for 20 years to Massachusetts through Maine, as part of a contract with estimated revenues of approximately US$10 billion.
In addition, through an agreement reached with Maine last summer, the state will receive a supply of 0.5 terawatt hours per year, also for 20 years.
The line will run 100 kilometres from the Appalachian substation in Saint-Adrien-d'Irlande to a connection point in the municipality of Frontenac in the Eastern Townships, near the border between Quebec and Maine.
The addition of a converter at the Appalachian substation will also transform AC power into DC power to supply the new line.
The route is expected to span 233 kilometres.
-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on May 21, 2021.
