Advancing Clean Energy in New Hampshire: The Northern Pass. Southern New Hampshire Planning Commission February 22, 2011

Transcription

1 Advancing Clean Energy in New Hampshire: The Northern Pass Southern New Hampshire Planning Commission February 22, 2011

2 Today s Agenda Purpose and Overview of Proposed Project Project Benefits Proposed Line Routing and Considerations Permitting and Approvals Project Timeline 2

3 What Is the Northern Pass? A proposed transmission project to deliver up to 1,200 megawatts (MW) of energy (predominantly hydropower) from Québec to New England s power grid - Enough energy to power one million homes A transmission project that will not increase the transmission charge on consumers electric bills - Different from other transmission projects whose costs are shared by all New England electric consumers Project participants include: - Northern Pass Transmission LLC a NH company established by PSNH s parent company, Northeast Utilities, and NSTAR - Hydro Renewable Energy Inc. (Hydro-Québec) 3

4 Why The Northern Pass? Why Now? A unique opportunity to bring 1,200 megawatts of hydropower to New Hampshire and New England - Competitively priced power - Renewable energy without the premiums - Helps meet New Hampshire s clean energy goals - Continues PSNH s commitment to customers who want reliable, low-cost, renewable energy 4

5 PSNH Initiatives: Moving towards a Clean Energy Future 5

6 Benefits to New Hampshire and the Region $1.1 Billion Investment in New Hampshire Economy New Hampshire Employment: Creates about 1,200 jobs per year over three-year construction phase ( ) - Preference will be given to local labor - Hospitality industry would also benefit greatly during construction State Economic Output: Project is estimated to increase NH s economic output by $259 $319 million during development New Tax Revenues: Estimated $22.2 to $27.2 million annually in new local, state, and county taxes Every new mile of transmission line adds approximately $2.5 million to a community s local tax base. 6

7 Preliminary Estimates of New Tax Revenues Estimated Annual Property Tax Payments in New Hampshire Upon Completion Based on Preliminary Conceptual Design Cost Estimates (2010 Dollars) State $7 - $7.5 Million Local $13 - $17 Million County $2.2 - $2.7 Million Total Est. = $ $27.2 Million (February 2011 Update) 7

8 Benefits to New Hampshire and the Region Lower Regional Average Market Price of Electricity: Saves New England electricity consumers $200 to $300 million in annual energy costs Competitively Priced Power: PSNH is working to secure a long-term agreement to buy a portion of the power at competitive prices - Provides the benefits of renewable power without the renewable cost premium Resource Diversity: Adding more hydroelectric power to the region s fuel mix helps guard against fuel shortages and price volatility Greenhouse Gas Reductions: Reduces regional carbon dioxide emissions by up to 5 million tons a year - Project identified as one of the 67 actions in NH Climate Action Plan NH Renewable Energy: Complements the development and operation or local renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar 8

9 The Northern Pass: Major Components Conventional direct-current (DC) transmission line: Extending from Québec to central New Hampshire (about 140 miles long) - DC line provides efficient transmission of large amounts of electricity over long distances Converter terminal: Facility proposed in Franklin to convert DC power from Québec to alternating current (AC) power for distribution on New England s electric grid; valued at $250 million 345 kilovolt (kv) AC transmission line: Extending from the proposed Franklin converter terminal to the existing Deerfield Substation in Deerfield, NH (about 40 miles long) 9

10 The Proposed Preliminary Preferred and Alternate Routes Line routing goals: - Utilize existing transmission rights of way (ROW) to the greatest extent possible - Minimize impacts to social and natural resources Hundreds of potential routes evaluated to identify a preliminary, least-impact route Parts of the route may change as a result of permitting and public participation process 10

11 Proposed Routing in Deerfield 11

12 Proposed Routing in Southern Project Area 12

13 Permitting and Approvals Proposed project requires significant federal and state permits and approvals: - U.S. Department of Energy (DOE): Presidential Permit (includes Environmental Impact Statement under NEPA, the National Environmental Policy Act) - Army Corps of Engineers - Secretary of the US Department of Agriculture (required to cross the White Mountain National Forest) - NH Site Evaluation Committee (SEC) Certificate of Site and Facility - FAA Evaluation: Mt Washington Regional Airport and Concord Municipal Airport - Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approval 13

14 Public Participation Process for the Proposed Project Input by all interested parties is needed Federal and State review of the proposed project will include many public participation opportunities - U.S. Dept. of Energy scoping meetings - Northern Pass LLC sponsored open houses - NH Site Evaluation Committee hearings U.S. Department of Energy scoping meetings will include: - What alternatives should be evaluated? - What routes should be considered? - What potential impacts should be analyzed? Federal and state regulatory review and public participation process will take about two years. 14

15 Project Timeline DOE public scoping meetings in mid-march; public input sought; NEPA data collection begins - On-going outreach to property owners and municipalities along proposed preferred route - Open houses (hosted by The Northern Pass) and on-going outreach efforts to seek public participation and comment and provide greater detail about proposed project routing and components New Hampshire Site Evaluation Committee application process - Completion of DOE and environmental permitting processes Proposed Construction schedule Late 2015 Proposed In-service date 15

16 Benefits of The Northern Pass A significant step forward toward a cleaner energy future Supplies competitively priced, low-carbon, renewable energy for decades to come Lowers electricity prices throughout the region Brings much needed local jobs Increases local sales of goods and services during project development Provides lasting new tax revenues 16

17 Questions? Call: Visit: 17