The owners of energy companies proposing a major transmission line project in Vermont and New Hampshire have announced plans to give $20 million to the Northeast Vermont Development Association to support economic development in the region.
The proposed project, called the Twin States Clean Energy Link, would run a 1,200-megawatt line from Canadian hydro to New England via mostly buried transmission lines along existing roads on the eastern edge of the state. It would pass through Canaan, Lemington, Bloomfield, Brunswick, Maidstone, Guildhall and Lunenburg before crossing into New Hampshire.
The Twin States proposal comes from National Grid, a utility that serves New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and Citizens Energy Corporation, a Massachusetts-based nonprofit energy company. The power will come from Hydro-Quebec, a public utility in Canada that gets much of its electricity from hydroelectric facilities.
According to a press release from National Grid, the proposed financial benefits package would total $20 million over 30 years. The Northeastern Vermont Development Association will distribute the money to support economic and community development.
Communities will be able to access funds through the association's revolving loan fund and local economic and community development grants.
According to the project's website, the two companies will “assemble community benefits programs totaling hundreds of millions of dollars” for municipalities in both Vermont and New Hampshire along the project's route. So far, the $20 million going to the Northeast Vermont Development Association is the only funding that has been publicly announced.
Neither National Grid nor the Northeast Vermont Development Association immediately responded to requests for comment.
“NVDA is pleased to support and welcome the opportunities afforded to the Northeast Kingdom as a result of the Twin States Clean Energy Association,” Dave Snedeker, executive director of the Northeastern Vermont Development Association, said in the National Grid news release. “National Grid proactively partnered with NVDA and local communities to build a project that respects the values of Vermonters while providing an economic boost to an area of Vermont in need. It's a win-win-win for the state, NEK and the climate.”
Construction of the transmission line is expected to begin in 2027 and be ready for use in 2030, according to National Grid. The goal of the project is to boost the capacity and reliability of New England's electric grid and reduce electricity costs for customers in the region, which have been among the highest in the nation for the past year.
The Biden administration recently announced federal funding for the project — a total of $1.3 billion spread across three transmission line proposals, including the Twin States.
