PSC boosts Hydro-quebec sales

Proposal to sell power benefits from Clean Energy Standard low-carbon roadmap

Proposal to sell power benefits from Clean Energy Standard low-carbon roadmap./

A proposal to sell hydroelectric power from a series of massive dams in northern Quebec to New York City received a potential boost on Thursday when the state Public Service Commission put out its Clean Energy Standard, or market roadmap for meeting the state’s low-carbon goals.

In issuing their Standard, PSC members created a new “Tier” or category of renewable power sources that provide renewable credits or subsidies to get started.

The new Tier IV is for green sources that can directly feed the power-hungry New York City market. They also get a higher value based on their ability to offset the pollution currently coming from the many aged fossil fuel plants operating in the city, noted Noah Shaw, a partner and cochair of the Hodgson Russ law firm’s renewable energy practice and former general counsel at the state Energy Research and Development Authority.

Tier IV includes power produced by the provincially owned Hydro- Quebec utility, which wants to sell electricity to the city via a proposed 335-mile power line under Lake Champlain and the Hudson River.

“We are very encouraged by this decision,” Sophie Brochu, CEO of Hydro- Québec, said of the PSC’S new Tier. The company plans to offer a bid to sell the power within the next two months.

The power would be carried by the proposed Champlain Hudson Power Express line, but the PSC’S order focused on power generators, not transmitters.

Overall, players in the growing renewable energy industry were pleased by the PSC’S actions, which they believe signals that New York is serious about reaching the goal of having 70 percent green energy by 2030, as outlined in the 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.

“This is the step that actually effectuates that,” Anne Reynolds, executive director of the Alliance for Clean Energy New York, said of the new PSC guidelines. “They are looking to the future.”

The PSC also bolstered the credits for offshore windmills planned for the Long Island area and projects in Tier II, which include many existing privately owned hydroelectric plants in New York State. Operators of those facilities had earlier feared they would be overlooked in the new regimen.

Builders of solar plants should also benefit from the sheer amount of energy the state says it wants from renewables. The PSC’S guidelines call for the purchase of 4,500 megawatts of upstate renewables annually for the next five years.

“This creates a strong market in New York and should attract the private investment we will need to get projects under development,” Reynolds said.