The New York State Public Service Commission has approved a 93-mile 345-kilovolt (kV) transmission line that is being developed jointly by LS Power Grid New York Corporation and the New York Power Authority (NYPA).
The nearly $854 million project, named the Marcy to New Scotland Upgrade Project, is designed to speed the flow of clean, reliable electricity to high-demand markets downstate.
The initiative also increases transmission capacity to move power more efficiently in keeping with the goals of both the state’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act and the Accelerated Renewable Energy Growth and Community Benefit Act to lower carbon emissions and combat climate change.
The project involves the removal of existing transmission lines and installation of new lines within approximately 93 miles of existing transmission corridors.
It includes upgrades to the Marcy and Edic substations in Oneida County, construction of a new substation in the Town of Princetown, construction of a new substation and upgrades to an existing substation in the Town of Rotterdam, both in Schenectady County, and upgrades to a substation in the Town of New Scotland, Albany County.
The project will replace aging and outdated transmission towers -- some more than 60 years old -- with the latest technologies and enable more efficient energy flow while reducing the number of transmission structures.
The rebuilt transmission lines are expected to be in service by the end of 2023.
In addition, the Commission has approved the environmental management and construction plan filed to construct and operate a transmission project known as the Empire State Line Project.
The project by NextEra Energy Transmission New York, Inc. includes a 20-mile 345 kV transmission line located in Niagara and Erie counties. Construction of the project is slated to start soon.
In his 2021 State of the State address that he delivered this month, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo noted that construction has already started on NYPA’s 86-mile Smart Path project from Massena to Croghan, and construction will soon start on several key projects in Western New York, Mid-Hudson, and the Capital Region.
