The Big Dig: Transmission Line Powers Through Saratoga on 339-Mile Run

SARATOGA COUNTY  The noises you hear emanating from wooded areas across Saratoga County are the building sounds of one of the largest investments in New York state history. 

They call it: Chippy. 

The $6 billion Champlain Hudson Power Express transmission line project ultimately sets two five-inch-diameter cables underwater or underground on a 339-mile run from the U.S.-Canadian border to New York City. 

When completed in 2026, those cables are anticipated to speed 1,250 megawatts of electricity to a new state-of-the-art facility in Queens that will convert clean energy from direct current to alternating current power to be fed directly into New York City’s power grid and powering more than 1 million homes.  

Construction on CHPE kicked off November 2022 in Whitehall, and will continue into 2026, with work activities taking place in Washington, Saratoga, Schenectady, Albany, Greene, Rockland, and Queens counties. The work includes clearing trees and growth in preparation for project installation, digging trenches, installing conduit to house cables, and performing horizontal directional drilling.

A meeting between CHPE and local officials took place this week and “was very positive and included a detailed construction discussion related to the City of Saratoga,” according to a spokesperson at CHPE on Sept. 26.  

 “Construction continues at a steady pace throughout Saratoga County. Work includes site preparation (clearing trees and brush and creating access roads) Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) that is used to go under environmentally sensitive or congested areas, digging the trench where the conduit and cable will be placed, along with cable pulling and splicing. Work will continue through the end of next year.”

Trenching is scheduled to begin this week in Saratoga Springs, according to the company.  

Once completed, the project is expected to reduce harmful emissions by 3.7 million metric tons – the equivalent of removing approximately 44 percent of the cars from New York City streets. Additionally, it is anticipated to provide $3.5 billion in economic benefits to New Yorkers and create approximately 1,400 family-sustaining jobs during construction, with a commitment to use a significant amount of union labor.

Local economies across the state will stand to benefit. Some Washington County municipalities and school districts will receive a combined $181 million in tax revenue over the next 30 years from the project, The Post-Star reported in 2021.  

Plans for an Alternative Clean Power Transmission Project were announced in 2010, with the first public presentations held in Albany that spring. Five years later, Transmission Developers Inc. (TDI) announced that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has issued a Department of the Army permit to allow the Champlain Hudson Power Express project to be placed in waters of the United States along the proposed route. 

Champlain Hudson Power Express (CHPE) project, was developed by Transmission Developers, Inc. (backed by Blackstone) and Hydro-Québec – the latter being the largest renewable energy producer in North America. 

The first 24 miles of submarine cable destined for installation in Lake Champlain arrived from Sweden at the Port of Albany in October 2023. By August 2024 cables were floated across the US-Canadian border and the installation of the marine cables in Lake Champlain and the Hudson River began.

The “terrestrial route” – which may be viewed via an interactive map on CHPE’s website, enters Saratoga County shortly after crossing West River Road via Fort Edward, then traces a southwesterly path through the hamlet of Gansevoort, and proceeds across Ballard Road through Wilton Wildlife Preserve and the Northway near Gavin Park. The line continues just southwest of the Skidmore College campus and Saratoga Hospital, past Church Street and Washington Street in Saratoga Springs and moves to a parallel run alongside Route 50/ Ballston Avenue just south of SPAC. 

The work then continues through the southern portion of Saratoga County before crossing into Schenectady and points beyond. Of the 339 miles, 60% will be in waterways and 40% buried underground. 

“The transformation of a fossil fuel site into a zero-emission facility highlights the world of possibilities we have to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, mitigate the impact of climate change and accelerate our collective progress of shifting our power grid to go green,” Gov. Hochul said, standing in the shadow of Astoria’s Hell Gate Bridge last September to announce the start of construction on the converter station in Queens. 

The 339-mile route from the north U.S. border to Queens was designed to minimize its impact on the environment, according to CHPE.  Burying the line keeps it out of sight as well as providing protection from extreme weather. The underground cable installation work is ongoing in various stages in all 15 of the project’s construction segments. 

Once it enters service in the spring of 2026, CHPE will be the largest transmission line in the U.S. built entirely underwater and underground, E&E News by Politico reported in 2023. 

Overall, as part of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), New York state has committed to reducing GHG emissions by 40 percent by 2030, and 85 percent by 2050. At the same time, the state has committed to increasing the use of renewable energy to 70 percent of the market share by 2030, and 100 percent by 2040. 

According to CHPE, it will deliver more than 15 percent of remaining generation needed to meet New York state’s 2030 renewable energy targets, and result in carbon emissions reduction equivalent to removing approximately 44 percent of the cars from New York City streets.