Québec–New Hampshire
Interconnection
PUBLIC CONSULTATION • Spring 2015
The goal of this Hydro-Québec
TransÉnergie project is to increase
the energy interchange capacity
between Québec and New England
by building an interconnection
to link Québec’s power grid with
New Hampshire’s. Commissioning
is scheduled for 2019.
Connecting the grids
The project involves the
construction of a 320-kV
direct-current transmission line,
about 75 km long, in Québec.
This line will be extended into
the U.S.A. and will connect
Des Cantons substation in
Val-Joli to Franklin substation
in southern New Hampshire.
To supply the planned
transmission line, equipment
that converts alternating
current to direct current will
be added to Des Cantons
substation. The existing
perimeter of Des Cantons
substation will not be modified.
Line routes studied
Study area characteristics
From the starting point of the planned line at Des Cantons
substation in Val-Joli to the Québec/New Hampshire
border, the study area covers 571 km 2. The north and
central sections of the study area are on agroforest land
in the Appalachian plateau, while the south section
extends to the White Mountain foothills. Population
density is greater in the Appalachian plateau than in
the border area.
Environmental studies have shown that the
least-impact solution consists in running
the planned line along the existing 450-kV
Des Cantons–New England line. However,
since this line goes into Vermont, the planned
line will have to move away from it in the
south section
order to reach the crossing
Project in
components
point at the Québec/New
Hampshire border.
Study area
The study area covers parts of three regional county
municipalities (MRCs): Val-Saint-François, Haut-SaintFrançois and Coaticook. Within these MRCs, it crosses
through the following municipalities: Val-Joli, Stoke,
Ascot Corner, Cookshire-Eaton, Saint-Isidore-de-Clifton,
Martinville, Sainte-Edwidge- de-Clifton, Saint-Malo,
Saint-Venant-de-Paquette, East Hereford and
Saint-Herménégilde.
Proposed route
The line route study
therefore consists of
Variants under study
two parts: a first section where the line is
Transmission
substations
lines
parallel to
the existing
450-kVand
line,
and a
120which
kV
#
second section
in
a number of line
450being
kV or 735studied.
kV
#
route variants
are
These
variants Boundaries
lead to the border crossing
point which Hydro-Québec
has agreed
Regional county municipality
(MRC) or
equivalent territory
(TÉ) Pass
on with its U.S. partner,
Northern
Municipality
Transmission (NPT).
#
Cleveland, CT
Main line routing criteria
Poste de Weedon
72°0'
Study area
Windsor
substation
Windsor, V
Li
g
Transmission substations and lines
LE VAL-SAINT-FRANÇOIS
(MRC)
ne
à

Stoke, M
45
0
Monts Stoke
Sa
kV
in
Cleveland, CT
10



72°0'
257


Johnville
Waterville, V
Compton, M
45
0
aux
Ri L
viè ig
rene à
kV
Mo
e
ook
206


!
U.S.A.
72°0'!
0
i
ip
p
sa
w
147


Johnville
#

!
Sa
t
in


143
214


Newport, M
212


Birchton
LE HAUT-SAINT-FRANÇOIS
257 East
(MRC)



Hereford,
M
Sawyerville
NEW HAMPSHIRE
SaintHerménégilde, M
Lac
Martinville, M
QUÉBEC R
ivWallace
ièr
e
Compton, M
253


Saint-Isidore-de-Clifton, M
VERMONT
71°40'
200 km
Bury, M
Lac
Sherbrooke
AirportLindsay
Mont Hereford
Dixville, M
U.S.A
-F
Cookshire- 
253

Eaton, V
Saint-Venant253


de-Paquette,
M

Sa
108


A
(
# Saint-Malo, M !
Waterville, V
Brunswick
Nova
Scotia
Boston
251
substation 

re
iè
v10
Ri
!
Ontario
108


251
206


is
aux
45°0'
Montréal
Lac
New Magog
P.E.I.
251


# Coaticook

M
as
SHERBROOKE
(TÉ)
s
e
Sainte-EdwidgeAscot Corner,
de-Clifton,
CT M
112
ço
re
#
#


um
on
iè
Riv
45°20'
MTM, zone 7, NAD83
7178_bu_hq_033_consult_150428a.mxd

r
viè
Ri


COATICOOK
(MRC)
Sherbrooke,
V
141
Coaticook, V
10 km
Chartierv
n
Saint-Isidore-de-Clifton,
M
ra
Monts Stoke
Ligne à 450 kV
oatic
re C
10



Québec
Stanstead-Est, BarnstonM
Québec
Ouest, M
LE HAUT-SAINT-FRANÇOIS
(MRC)
216
Sawyerville
Stoke, M
Sa
Riviè
Lac
Massawippi
5
212


71°40'
LE VAL-SAINT-FRANÇOIS
253


(MRC)
Martinville,
M
# #
0
Newport, M
45°20'
i
wi
pp
sa
M
as
Birchton
#
Poste de Weedo


#
Des
Cantons
substation
(735 kV)
# #
143


• Optimize line design with a view
to harmonious integration into
the environment.
Municipality
253


108


SaintClaude, M
substation
re
Windsor,
iè V

214
re
• Avoid open spaces and sites offering #
panoramic views.
 municipality (MRC) or

Regional county
equivalent territory (TÉ)
Sherbrooke
Airport
iè
Riv
45°20'


251
SHERBROOKE
Val-Joli, M
(TÉ)
Windsor
v10
Ri
Bury, M
CookshireEaton, V
112


Sherbrooke, V
Lac
Magog

!
Ascot Corner, M
um
on
450 kV or 735 kV
#
e
Sa
108


120 kV
Boundaries
r
viè
Ri
• Avoid the highlands of the Mont
Hereford massif.
is
#o
#
nç
ra
t-F
# #
• As much as possible, avoid sensitive
elements such as farmland, sugar
bush operations, exceptional forest
ecosystems, habitats of special-status
plant and animal species, wetlands
and recreational or tourist sites.
Riviè
2
Variants under study
# # Des Cantons substation (735 kV)

• Avoid siting near isolated homes
and avoid village hubs.
Proposed route


216
45°20'
SaintClaude, M
Val-Joli, M
• Run the line along the existing
450-kV line wherever possible.
Project components
71°40'
45°0'
In developing the various routes
studied, the following criteria were
taken into account:
Mo
e
Sa
um
on
A
!
(
s
Massawippi
oa
re C
Saint-Malo,
Mpartagés.
Information for publics concerned by
et services
206 Équipement
Lacthe project. For any other use, contact Géomatique, Hydro-Québec


Sainte-Edwidge-
Lac
Section with various routes
Section where line is parallel
to the 450-kV line
For this section, two feasible routes and several
variants for reaching the border crossing point
were studied. The west and east routes leave
the existing line corridor some 15 kilometres
from the crossing point. The west route variants
measure 23 km (west variant A) and 22 km
(west variant B), but run along the 450-kV
line for 4 km (west variant A) and 3 km (west
variant B) of this distance. The new corridor
that will have to be created for this route
will measure approximately 15 km. The east
International border
variants are shorter (approximately 19 km)
Regional county municipality (MRC) or
but also
run
equivalent
territory
(TÉ)along
boundarythe 450-kV line for a
smaller
distance.
Municipal
boundary
From Des Cantons substation to the municipality of
Saint-Malo, the line will run along the east side of the
450-kV line, except for a short segment as it leaves
Des Cantons substation. In this area, there are two
450-kV line segments stretching over 4 km; one of
these (the west segment) will be dismantled and
the other converted to 320 kV. The future 320-kV line
will then run parallel to the existing line.
The option of running along the 450-kV line to
the east was retained on the basis of technical and
environmental criteria, including the number of
homes located within the right-of-way of the future
line. There are many more homes to the west of the
existing line, including those at Ascot Corner and
Johnville. Furthermore, the existing line runs through
woodland over some 75% of its length, which will
help integrate the future line into the landscape.
The route crosses highways 216, 112, 108 and 206.

Study area
Proposed route
Variants under study
¬
\
Proposed crossing point
A
!
(
71°30'
Ri
vi
èr
e
Sainte-Edwidgede-Clifton, CT
COATICOOK
(MRC)


206
au
x
Saumon
Compton, M
s
Municipal boundary
450-kV transmission line
Lac
Lindsay
A
!
(
NEW HAMPSHIRE
èr e
450-kV line
253


Ch. des Côtes
Hydro-Québec
Saint-Malo, M implements
various mitigation
Happy
Corner
measures
to minimize
the
impacts of its new facilities.
Measures such as the
selection
of the most
253


suitable types of towers
Pittsburg
" and careful tower siting
are applied at the design
stage. In this project,
Saint-Venanttowers will
de-Paquette,
M be erected
9 -Rangby side when possible
Ch. duside
when the two lines are
parallel, especially in
open areas.
Ha ll
251


tB
ia n
var
East variant A
Mo e
e
¬
\
9e Rang
Stewartstown
"
71°30'
Mont
Hereford
We
We s
East Hereford, M
Ea

Information for publics concerned by the project. For any other use, contact Géomatique, Hydro-Québec Équipement et services partagés.
k
oo
tic
oa
Saint-Herménégilde,
" M
West
Stewartstown
eC
.d
Ch
VERMONT
s
st
Ea
e
èr
vi
Ri
ièr e
Riv
MTM, zone 7, NAD83
71°45'
7178_bu_hq_034_consult_sect_sud_150428a.mxd
251


Proposed crossing point
(MRC)
East Hereford, M
Lac
Wallace
U.S.A.
Saumon
¬
\
Mitigation
measures
COATICOOK
206


au
x
k
oo
tic
oa

206


a
We st v
a
We st v
Coatico ok
4 km
Variants under study
71°30'
Ch. du 9e-Rang
eC
.d
Ch
ièr e
Riv
Mont
Hereford
Coaticook, V
QUÉBEC
Saint-Venantde-Paquette, M
Sainte-Edwidgede-Clifton, CT
ria
ria
nt
B
nt
A
147


Proposed route
Riv
i
Ri
vi
èr
e
COATICOOK
(MRC)
Study area
èr e
450-kV line
Mo e

71°45'
251


Saint-Herménégilde, M
147


Compton, M
Dixville, M
Ha ll
253


Riv
i
e
èr
vi
Ri
Project components
9e Rang
2
Regional county municipality (MRC) or
equivalent territory (TÉ) boundary
Saint-Malo, M
251


Coaticook, V
0
International border
Lac
Lindsay
206


45°0'
The route will not be chosen until Hydrohas consulted the public.
Project components
Québec
45°0'
71°45'
450-kV transmission line
3

ƒ„…„†

„…„†
Tower type
and right-of-way

 ­€‚

This will be the first 320-kV DC
line built by Hydro-Québec,
so a new family of steel towers
will be used. The new towers
will be designed to optimally
integrate the planned line
with the existing line.
ƒ„…„†
Guyed towers
ƒ„…„†
Guyed towers
Public consultation
on line routes
Self-supporting towers
„…„†
ƒ„…„†
For more information
Self-supporting
towers
PylôneInfo-project
et emprise
types
lorsque
la ligne
Line
Ginette
Cantin
Information on the
selected route ƒ„…„†
ƒ„…„†
General information


DRAFT DESIGN
„…„†
Schedule
ƒ„…„†
ƒ„…„†
 ­€‚



 ­€‚

ƒ„…„†

Self-supporting towers
Typical towers and rights-of-way when planned line is parallel to existing line

 ­€‚

„…„†
„…„†
Pylône et emprise types lorsque la ligne
projetée est juxtaposée à la ligne existante




 ­€‚

Winter 2014–2015
Spring 2015
Summer 2015
PROJECT
Permitting Construction Fall 2015 to spring 2017
2017-2019
Commissioning2019
projetée est juxtaposée à la ligne
existante
Advisor
– Community Relations – Richelieu
1 877 653-1139
Direction – Affaires régionales et collectivités
705, boul. Clairevue, 1er étage
Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville
(Québec)
Pylône et emprise types lorsque
la ligne




 ­€‚
J3V
6B6
projetée est juxtaposée à la ligne existante
E-mail: quebecnewhampshire@hydro.qc.ca
www.hydroquebec.com/quebec-new-hampshire
www.hydroforthefuture.com




 ­€‚
Ce document est également publié en français.
This is a translation of the original French text.
2015E0370-A
Printed on paper made in Québec from
100% postconsumer recycled fibre.