Montpelier, VT – Today, the Vermont Public Service Board authorized the construction of a transmission line proposed by Champlain VT LLC d/b/a TDI New England to supply renewable energy from Canada to the New England region. The transmission line will be laid along the bed of Lake Champlain from Alburg to Benson, Vermont. In Benson, the transmission line will exit the lake and travel underground alongside local roads and state highways to Ludlow, where it will interconnect with the Vermont electric transmission system. The project is anticipated to begin in 2016, with the aim of placing the line in service by 2019.
In authorizing the project, the Public Service Board found that the transmission line will provide significant environmental, electrical, and economic benefits for Vermont and the region, including, diversifying the state and regional fuel supply, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, creating hundreds of in-state construction jobs, producing over a billion dollars in new state and local revenues and public good benefits, and potentially lowering electricity costs. The Board further found that the installation of the line underground in existing public rights-of-way and underwater in Lake Champlain will help reduce the overall visual impacts from the Project. TDI New England has also committed to supporting Lake Champlain clean-up efforts, state renewable energy programs, and Vermont electric ratepayer relief through the creation of several public-good benefit funds.
For the text of the Public Service Board’s decision and for more information about Docket 8400, please visit http://psb.vermont.gov/docketsandprojects/electric/8400.
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