NYRI, energy policy, Canadian hydro projects, transmission corridors

[mary]

There is alot in this subject line. No news lately about NYRI? Think
again because all of the topics I listed in the subject line *are
really about NYRI*.

Last Friday and Monday, I listened to North Country Public Radio's
(Adirondacks and St Lawrence River Valleys) coverage of the NIETC and
Nyri. They are featuring it because they are worried up there. Most
of the state is also in the NIETC transmission map -- including the
St. Lawrence Valley and most of the Adirondacks (north and west).
They are following the NYRI struggle and they are also following the
development of the James Bay hydroelectric dams in Canada. This is
projected to be the biggest source of electricity for the new
transmission corridor and could be the source of the power for more
than just NYRI.

I am just starting to dig into this kind of material. If anyone knows
more about this or would like to contribute, please do!!!!

Here is one of the links I was looking at:
http://www.infoshop.org/inews/article.php?story=20071104215941771

I cannot vouch for all the accuracy of this info -- came from a google
search.

Here is a snippet --


Welcome to Infoshop News
Thursday, November 15 2007 @ 08:54 AM PST
US-Canada War Looms Over Energy, Water


Energy Wars

On the face of it, tensions notwithstanding, the trajectory since
NAFTA has been all towards integration--in both the economic and
military spheres.

This August, Harper, Bush and Mexican President Felipe Calderon met in
Montebello, Quebec, for a third session on the Security and Prosperity
Partnership (SPP, or ASPAN in Spanish), an agreement increasing
military and police cooperation between the three NAFTA partners.
About 5,000 protesters, some dressed as clowns or guerrilla fighters,
chanted "Bush go home!" near the Chateau Montebello, where the three
leaders were meeting. Riot police, used tear gas, pepper spray and
club to drive the protesters back at the gates.

In June, several were arrested at a protest in Halifax, Nova Scotia,
against a conference to promote the "Atlantica" free trade zone
proposal, with police using pepper spray and electric stun- guns. The
Atlantica project, officially known as the International Northeast
Economic Region (AINER), envisions new ports, transmission lines and
superhighways to integrate Canada's Maritime provinces with New
England and upstate New York.

Massive new energy transfers are already planned--and are meeting local
opposition both sides of the border.

The US Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman Oct. 3 finalized designation of
two controversial Mid-Atlantic Area National Interest Electric
Transmission Corridor. Canadian power developers had been awaiting the
Washington's approval to supersede almost unanimous New York and
Pennsylvania state and local objections to the corridors. The move was
immediately protested by New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer and Pennsylvania
Gov. Ed Rendell. "This designation will allow the federal government
to pre-empt New York's legitimate oversight and process for reviewing
and siting transmission projects within our state borders," Spitzer
said in a statement.

Under the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the Secretary of Energy has the
power to designate National Corridors, under which the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission (FERC) can issue permits for new transmission
facilities over the heads of state and local authorities.

At immediate issue is the New York Regional Interconnect (NYRI), a
proposed 190-mile 1,200-megawatt line of 130-foot pylons linking Marcy
to New Windsor, NY, following the Delaware Valley, to deliver Canadian
power to the New York City metropolitan area. NYRI Inc., which
proposes to build the lines, is a secretive group of private investors
headed by a Canadian entrepreneur, R. Muddiman. Much of the right-of-
ways for the line are to be seized by eminent domain. NYRI Inc. has
threatened to sue New York State over legislation signed by outgoing
Gov. George Pataki last year limiting NYRI's use of eminent domain.

When the Marcy Line, the first major link between the New York and
Canadian grids, was built in the 1970s following the first big thrust
of hydro-electric development in northern Quebec, there were angry
protests--especially at the Akwesasne Mohawk reservation straddling the
New York-Canadian border of the St. Lawrence River, where Indians
blockaded construction equipment. But critics point out that the NYRI
would cut far closer to towns and homes than the Marcy Line did.

Also at issue in the Corridor is a plan by Allegheny Power of
Pennsylvania to build a 37-mile line through the west of the state,
delivering power from its coal-fired generators to out-of-state
markets.

The Energy Department additionally approved a Southwest Area National
Interest Electric Transmission Corridor, which will allow a 230-mile
transmission line to connect Arizona's Palo Verde nuclear plant to the
California grid--over the veto of Arizona state authorities.

But it is in the northern Rockies of Montana and British Columbia that
acrimony over planned energy transfers and resource exploitation have
resulted in a government surveillance scandal--and alarmingly bellicose
cross-border rhetorical sniping by local politicians.
*******************************

[mary]

here is the audio link from North Country Public Radio
http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/hydrocree.html?nophotos=&limit=0&start=0