The power generated by hydroelectric generators in Canada has, for four decades now, played a role in the production of electricity in the U.S. Northeast, and it appears that hydropower from America's neighbor could also reduce prices of energy for consumers.
Those who live in the Northeast pay the highest power costs in the U.S., but the waters in rivers and reservoirs of Quebec hold promise to providing energy relief to this population.
Proposals for five large-scale hydropower sources that are under review could provide additional megawatts in the region, and since the supply of energy would increase, it could lower energy prices for consumers.
The Energy Information Administration forecast in June that New Englanders will pay 20.2 cents per kilowatt per hour or nearly seven cents higher for their electricity compared with the country's average in this year's third quarter, while those in New Jersey and New York are anticipated to spend 16.5 cents per kilowatt per hour.
Governors in New England said that restricting costs is a priority and announced earlier this year to work together for solutions.
Critics, however, are concerned that the transmission lines will negatively affect the landscape's natural beauty of the landscape and that relying too much on hydropower would hinder efforts to reduce energy consumption and come up with renewable sources of energy.
"Our view is that there is a role for Canadian hydropower in the New England power grid," said Conservation Law Foundation-New Hampshire vice president Tom Irwin. "But we think that to the extent it increases, that it be done in a thoughtful way and in a way that doesn't undermine the development of renewable resources at the local level."
Canadian Hydropower Association president Jacob Irving, however, said Canadian hydro will not affect the progress on renewables saying that hydropower can be started and stopped quickly, which makes it a better partner for renewables such as wind and solar, which need a reliable backup.
After China and Brazil, Canada is the biggest hydropower generator in the world, and it has plenty of untapped capacity. Over the past decade, Canadian generators provided an additional 5,000 megawatts of hydropower, which is sufficient enough to provide power to five million homes. Last year, 1.6 percent of electricity consumed in the U.S. was from Canada, 60 percent of which went to New York and New England.
Photo: LHOON | Flickr
