Wednesday 1 November 2023

Clean Path New York announced an agreement with Prysmian Group to provide land and submarine cable systems for one of the largest transmission infrastructure projects in the United States.

Clean Path NY is an $11 billion renewable energy project comprising 3,800 MW of wind and solar power from more than 20 new wind and solar generation resources and a new 175-mile, underground and submarine transmission link. Together, these assets will enable the delivery of more than 7.5 million megawatt-hours of emissions-free energy every year—enough to power more than 1.5 million New York households. Clean Path NY is a public-private collaboration between Invenergy, energyRe, and the New York Power Authority.

“Through this agreement with Prysmian, Clean Path NY is securing technology to deliver electricity New Yorkers can count on,” said Shashank Sane, Executive Vice President of Transmission at Invenergy and Glenn Goldstein, President of Clean Path New York for energyRe. “High-voltage direct current transmission can reshape our country’s power grid by providing unmatched reliability and resilience. Despite industry headwinds, this agreement represents progress toward New York’s climate and sustainability goals.”

Under the terms of the agreement, Prysmian Group will be responsible for the design, manufacture, construction, installation, and commissioning of Clean Path NY’s state-of-the-art HVDC (high-voltage direct current) cable system, conditional upon Clean Path NY issuing its notice to proceed in Spring 2024. HVDC technology is the most efficient means of securely transmitting energy over long distances. Prysmian’s successful track record in the United States includes several major interconnection projects across the country.

“We are proud to support Clean Path NY in advancing New York State’s ambitious climate goals to be 70% carbon-free by 2030,” said Hakan Ozmen, EVP Projects BU, Prysmian Group. “Clean Path NY is one of the largest transmission infrastructure projects to be executed in New York State and is one the first 400 kV HVDC interconnectors to be built by Prysmian around the world. This agreement reinforces Prysmian Group’s leading position in the submarine and land cable market and underlines both our continued role in and our commitment to the North American clean energy transition.”

Clean Path NY will deliver significant public health benefits, particularly to historically underserved and frontline communities. Upon completion, Clean Path NY will reduce fossil fuel-fired generation from New York’s electric grid by more than 20% annually, leading to a corresponding 20% annual reduction in harmful pollutants--including NOx, SOx, and particulate matter emissions. Clean Path NY will also prevent 49 million tons of CO2 emissions by 2040—the equivalent of 9 million cars taken off the road. Clean Path NY is expected to catalyze more than $4 billion of in-state economic development and is estimated to create more than 8,300 good-paying in-state jobs.

New York State selected Clean Path NY as a response to the New York State Energy Research Development and Authority's (NYSERDA) Tier 4 renewable energy solicitation issued in January 2021, seeking projects to cost-effectively and responsibly deliver renewable energy to New York’s Zone J, an area of the state that relies on aging fossil fuel-fired generation. Clean Path NY’s agreement with NYSERDA was signed in November 2021 and approved by the State Public Service Commission in April 2022. In October 2022, Clean Path NY filed for its Article VII permit, which includes a full review of the need for the project and any environmental impacts of the siting, design, construction and operation of major transmission facilities in New York State. Pending all required permits and approvals, Clean Path NY is expected to begin construction in 2024.