New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's 2019 Green New Deal, for example, envisioned all city operations running on 100 per cent “zero-emission Canadian hydropower” within five years.
Quebec Premier François Legault also put forward a strategy to become the "battery of the American northeast.”
Meanwhile, in the private sector, Transmission Developers, a subsidiary of the Blackstone Group, has been proposing the Champlain Hudson Power Express, that would run a 536-kilometre high-voltage line under Lake Champlain and the Hudson River.
Organizations have faced opposition, however, as to whether hydropower is as non-emitting as once previously thought, as well as questions over the best route for any transmission lines and whether they would interfere with wilderness.
Riverkeeper, which advocates for clean water in the state, has raised concerns that the Quebec utility would have to create new hydro dams in order to provide enough power to New York City.
Hydro-Québec spokesperson Lynn St-Laurent told Canada’s National Observer that the utility was “in a position, today, that it can serve new contracts without new build-out of hydropower facilities.”
She also noted that New York’s expansion of its Clean Energy Standard in October 2020 meant that “all forms of hydroelectricity, including hydro from Québec, are recognized as clean and renewable sources.”
St-Laurent said the utility welcomed Cuomo's announcement. “Hydro-Québec will participate in the solicitation that was issued by the state, and will offer its full support to New Yorkers in achieving their decarbonization goals,” she said.
“A new transmission interconnection between Québec’s hydropower system and New York City can lead to extensive environmental and reliability benefits for New York.”