PEI submarine transmission line energized

On August 29, 2017, a Canadian utility energized a new $142.5 million (CAD) undersea electric transmission system connecting Canada's Prince Edward Island to mainland New Brunswick. 

The Northumberland Strait Submarine Transmission System includes two 180-megawatt underwater cables, running 17 kilometers from Cape Tormentine, New Brunswick, to Borden-Carleton, Prince Edward Island.  They replace aging cables with a more limited transfer capability.  The project also includes new overhead transmission lines on land and an expanded substation. The cost was split by the federal Government of Canada (contributing up to $68.9 million from the Green Infrastructure Fund) and the Province of Prince Edward Island (contributing up to $73.6 million). 

The new submarine cables supply approximately 75% of the Island's electricity.  The cables are buried under the seabed in separate trenches. The project including the use of a marine excavator called a "Starfish" as well as a trenching remotely operated vehicle with a saw cutter.

They replace cables installed in 1977, when the island's electricity load was 95 megawatts.  In addition to the old cables' age, they were also insufficient -- PEI's load has grown to 262 megawatts by 2015.  While the island does have significant wind energy supply, utility Maritime Electric noted the need for firm power to back up wind's intermittent supply.  A press release announcing the Canadian government's 2015 decision to support the project describes it as the most significant on Prince Edward Island since the Confederation Bridge. 

Interest in submarine transmission cables is growing.  Improved marine technology, the difficulty of siting major linear infrastructure on land, and the growth of offshore wind and other remote renewable resources are all driving this trend, as is the need to provide reliable, affordable, clean power to consumers in island communities.

Hatteras Island power outage and response

North Carolina's Hatteras Island experienced a power outage last week when construction activity damaged two underground transmission cables serving the island.  While the damage is repaired, residents face mandatory power conservation rules and visitors have been evacuated.

Hatteras Island is a barrier island located in North Carolina's Outer Banks.  While the island is relatively far offshore, it is connected to the northern Outer Banks islands by the Bonner Bridge.  Hatteras Island's roughly 4,000 residents and tens of thousands more seasonal visitors are supplied electricity by Cape Hatteras Electric Cooperative, a member-owned, not-for-profit electric distribution cooperative.

According to the cooperative, on July 27 a contractor building a replacement for the Bonner Bridge "accidentally drove a steel casing through the cooperative’s transmission cables" at the south side of the bridge.  The cooperative says it is taking steps toward both temporary and permanent solutions. For now, it is using a permanent diesel generator in the village of Buxton as well as temporary backup diesels to provide power to the island and is "working to expand the temporary generation service on Hatteras Island in order to accommodate a staged reentry of visitors." Meanwhile, the cooperative is working to splice the damaged underground cable and to build a new overhead transmission line, so permanent transmission service can be restored.

Calling the incident an "unprecedented complete loss of power delivery to Hatteras Island," Dare County issued a mandatory evacuation order for all visitors to Hatteras Island effective July 29, citing "life safety issues from the loss of reliable electrical power on Hatteras Island and growing uncertainty as to when repairs to the main transmission line will be completed to enable restoration of full power to the island."  Estimates suggested over 10,000 visitors have been kept off Hatteras Island as a result of the evacuation order, with proper credentials required for reentry.

According to the county's website, a complete repair might take from one to two weeks.  The county notes that the on-island diesel generators "will only be able to run if load is at minimal levels and everyone is conserving." The county cites mandatory power and water conservation measures in effect, including a requirement to disconnect system circuit breakers for air conditioning systems and hot tub heaters.

US designates alternative fuel corridors for transportation

U.S. federal highway administrators have announced the designation of 55 routes as "alternative fuel" corridors, capable of accommodating electric vehicles or those powered by hydrogen, propane, or natural gas.  The announcement sets the stage for further federal action supporting alternative transportation fuels.

An electric vehicle charging station, in an underground parking garage in Boston.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) oversees construction and maintenance of the nation's highways, bridges, and tunnels.  FHWA data suggests U.S. drivers travel over 3.15 trillion miles per year.  Overall, the U.S. transportation sector is a major consumer of energy, and among the largest contributors to domestic greenhouse gas emissions.  

Congress and the Obama administration are now pursuing strategies to reduce the transportation sector's greenhouse gas emissions.  Electric vehicles and alternative transportation fuels form one tool in these efforts.  Under a 2015 law -- Section 1413 of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act -- the Secretary of Transportation is required to designate national electric vehicle (EV) charging, hydrogen, propane, and natural gas fueling corridors.  In July, the Department of Transportation asked states to nominate corridors along major highways, for EVs and other alternative fuels designated in the FAST Act.

In a November 3, 2016, announcement, the FHWA unveiled its designation of the nation's first alternative fuel corridors.  The network is nearly 85,000 miles long, and crosses 35 states.  Some corridors have been designed as "sign-ready," meaning alternative fueling stations are operational; these corridors are eligible to feature new signs showing where drivers can refuel.

The FHWA has posted maps of its alternative fuel corridors on its website.  The agency intends to add more miles in the future, as additional charging and fueling stations are built.

US Presidential Permits for cross-border infrastructure

As the U.S.'s international trade in energy grows, so too has interest in the process for securing a federally required approval known as a Presidential Permit.

A marker shows the route of a natural gas pipeline in Utah.

The construction, operation, and maintenance of infrastructure that crosses the U.S.'s border with Mexico or Canada -- think pipelines, transmission lines, and bridges -- generally requires prior authorization by the federal government in the form of a Presidential Permit.  How you obtain a Presidential Permit depends on the type of facilities in question, as permits may be issued by several federal agencies under different legal authorities.

Presidential permits for oil, petroleum products, and other liquids pipelines have been issued by the U.S. State Department since since the promulgation of Executive Order 11423 in 1968.  Executive Order 11423 provided that, except with respect to cross-border permits for electric energy facilities, natural gas facilities, and submarine facilities:

The Secretary of State is hereby designated and empowered to receive all applications for permits for the construction, connection, operation, or maintenance, at the borders of the United States, of: (i) pipelines, conveyor belts, and similar facilities for the exportation or importation of petroleum, petroleum products, coal, minerals, or other products to or from a foreign country; (ii) facilities for the exportation or importation of water or sewage to or from a foreign country; (iii) monorails, aerial cable cars, aerial tramways and similar facilities for the transportation of persons or things, or both, to or from a foreign country; and (iv) bridges, to the extent that congressional authorization is not required.

The State Department's Bureau of Energy Resources Office of Energy Diplomacy receives and processes permit applications for liquid product pipelines, including water and petroleum products.  The standard by which the Secretary of State reviews applications for presidential permits is prescribed by an executive order issued in 2004.  Executive Order 13337 directs the Secretary of State to authorize those border crossing facilities that the Secretary has determined would “serve the national interest."

By contrast, cross-border natural gas pipelines are regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, while electric transmission infrastructure is regulated by the Department of Energy.  Section 3 of the Natural Gas Act requires any person desiring to export any natural gas from the United States to a foreign country or to import any natural gas from a foreign country to the United States to obtain an order from the Federal Power Commission authorizing it to do so.   Section 202(e) of the Federal Power Act requires any person desiring to transmit any electric energy from the United States to a foreign country to obtain an order from the Federal Power Commission authorizing it to do so.

Executive Order 10485 designated the FERC's predecessor agency, the Federal Power Commission, to receive applications for natural gas and electricity facilities.  When the Department of Energy Organization Act of 1977 eliminated the Federal Power Commission, it shifted most of the FPC's responsibilities to the FERC, but Section 402(f) of that act specifically reserved import/export permitting functions for the Department of Energy.  For facilities governed by the Department of Energy, the Presidential Permit process is governed by Part 205 of the Department's rules.  In 2006, the Department delegated its authority to issue Presidential Permits for natural gas pipeline border crossings to FERC, via DOE Delegation Order No. 00-004.00A.

Infrastructure projects subject to the Presidential Permit process range widely in type, scope, and controversy, from the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada to the proposed Champlain Hudson Express high-voltage direct current electric transmission line.

August 19 - roundup

An article about wind turbine parts squeezing through bridges on Maine's rural roads.

Patriot Renewables LLC plans to invest up to $228 million for up to 50 turbines in Maine.

Some local opposition to certain wind turbine siting issues in Dixfield, Maine, at a hearing held by opponents of wind in Maine's mountains.

China, Maine is implementing a PACE program.

Ocean Renewable Power Company says its first commercial-scale ocean energy turbine is a success.