By William Opalka

The second transmission line proposed to bring Canadian hydropower into the Northeast under Lake Champlain has advanced with the release of its draft environmental impact statement.

The New England Clean Power Link, proposed by Transmission Developers Inc.-New England (TDI-NE), is a high voltage, direct current line that would transport 1,000 MW of electricity 154 miles from Quebec to Ludlow, Vt. Ninety-eight miles of the cable would be buried under Lake Champlain, and most of its land-based route would be underground.

The U.S. Department of Energy released the draft on June 3 for the $1.2 billion for the project, which it says should be issued a Presidential Permit, required for the border crossing.

TDI also is planning another 1,200-MW line using a path underneath the lake and through existing rights-of-way to New York City. This project is furthest along the regulatory path, having received its final permits in April. (See Quebec-NYC Tx Line Clears Final Regulatory Hurdle.)

A third high-voltage transmission line proposed to transport Canadian hydropower into the Northeast, Eversource Energy’s Northern Pass in New Hampshire, is expecting its final EIS next month, as its review is taking longer than expected to complete. (See Eversource: Northern Pass Delayed Until ’19; Earnings Up.)

TDI-NE touts the Vermont project as a way to deliver renewable energy from Canada to the ISO-NE market. The company estimates that the regulatory process will take until the end of the year, with construction starting in 2016. The project is expected to be in service by 2019.

TDI-NE still needs permits from Vermont and has yet to announce customers for its electricity.

The release of the draft opens a 60-day comment period that is scheduled to close on Aug. 11.