By William Opalka
New York Public Service Commission staff on Tuesday recommended that three transmission developers move to the next stage in its AC Transmission initiative to eliminate bottlenecks for downstate load centers.
After evaluating 22 transmission proposals and several non-transmission alternatives from four developers, the staff recommended two main projects: the upgrade of the 91-mile, double-circuit 220-kV Edic-New Scotland-Rotterdam line to 345 kV and the upgrade of the 51-mile, double-circuit 115-kV Knickerbocker-Pleasant Valley line to a 115/345-kV double circuit.
The PSC is expected to vote in December on the projects, which have an estimated price of $1.2 billion (12-T-0502, et al).
The proposed routes would satisfy Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Energy Highway goal to bring 1,000 MW of power generated upstate to areas of high demand in southeastern New York and New York City.
“Many of the proposals and critiques were responsive to the governor’s call for transmission solutions that maximize the re-use of existing rights of way so as to minimize impacts on the sensitive landscapes of New York. … Staff’s recommended portfolio successfully avoids the opening of new transmission rights of way and also avoids a new crossing of the scenic Hudson River,” the report said. (See Tx Plan to Open NY Choke Points Without New ROWs.)
The developers are NextEra Transmission, North American Transmission and a coalition of utilities and the New York Power Authority known as the New York Transmission Owners. Another private developer, Boundless Energy, was disqualified because its projects, while environmentally sound, did not provide a positive cost-benefit ratio, according to the report.
The Edic-New Scotland-Rotterdam line runs through the Mohawk Valley from Oneida County, near Utica, to Albany County. The Knickerbocker-Pleasant Valley line in the Hudson Valley runs from Rensselaer County to Dutchess County.
Following approval by the PSC, NYISO would be directed to issue a request for proposals to build the two segments. PSC staff said the two upgrades would provide more benefits if other developers were given an opportunity to bid on the project rather than solely selecting the NYTOs.
“The NYTOs and NextEra should be invited to apply to build both segments, and NAT should be invited to build the … Knickerbocker to Pleasant Valley segment,” staff wrote.
Staff said that while “other developers will be able to participate in the NYISO process” and potentially win the contracts, only the three companies will be reimbursed for the costs of participating if they are not selected.
To operate at full capacity, the Knickerbocker-Pleasant Valley project also would require upgrades to Orange and Rockland Utilities’ Rock Tavern terminal and increasing the 11-mile 69-kV Chester-Shoemaker-Sugarloaf line in Orange County to 138 kV.
In an interim report filed in July, PSC staff said that a spring announcement that a 720-MW power plant project had secured financing led to additional study of the Hudson Valley alternatives. (See NYPSC Staff Narrows Transmission Alternatives.)
The additional capacity would allow wind power generation, mostly sited in the northwestern part of the state, to more easily gain access to downstate New York markets.