82 FR 31315 - Notice of Availability for Public Comment of Interconnection Facilities Studies Summary Prepared for the Proposed Northern Pass Transmission Project

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 128 (July 6, 2017)

Northern Pass Transmission LLC (NPT) applied to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for a Presidential permit to construct, operate, maintain, and connect an electric transmission line across the U.S. border with Canada, currently referred to as the Northern Pass Project. NPT would construct and operate an overhead high-voltage direct current (HVDC) electric transmission line that is to originate at an HVDC converter station near Sherbrooke, Qu[eacute]bec, Canada; connect to a facility in Franklin, New Hampshire, that will convert the line's direct current to alternating current (AC); and continue from there to its southern terminus in Deerfield, New Hampshire. The proposed facilities will be capable of transmitting up to 1,090 megawatts (MW) of power. The amended applications are summarized below. DOE hereby announces the availability for public comment of a summary of the interconnection facilities studies prepared for the NPT project.

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 128 (Thursday, July 6, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31315-31316]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-14165]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

[OE Docket No. PP-371]


Notice of Availability for Public Comment of Interconnection 
Facilities Studies Summary Prepared for the Proposed Northern Pass 
Transmission Project

AGENCY: Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, U.S. 
Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of availability for public comment of interconnection 
facilities studies summary.

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SUMMARY: Northern Pass Transmission LLC (NPT) applied to the U.S. 
Department of Energy (DOE) for a Presidential permit to construct, 
operate, maintain, and connect an electric transmission line across the 
U.S. border with Canada, currently referred to as the Northern Pass 
Project. NPT would construct and operate an overhead high-voltage 
direct current (HVDC) electric transmission line that is to originate 
at an HVDC converter station near Sherbrooke, Qu[eacute]bec, Canada; 
connect to a facility in Franklin, New Hampshire, that will convert the 
line's direct current to alternating current (AC); and continue from 
there to its southern terminus in Deerfield, New Hampshire. The 
proposed facilities will be capable of transmitting up to 1,090 
megawatts (MW) of power. The amended applications are summarized below. 
DOE hereby announces the availability for public comment of a summary 
of the interconnection facilities studies prepared for the NPT project.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before August 7, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be addressed to: Christopher Lawrence, 
Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, OE-20, U.S. 
Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 
20585-0001. Because of delays in handling conventional mail, it is 
recommended that documents be transmitted by overnight mail, by 
electronic mail to [email protected] (preferred), or by 
facsimile to 202-586-8008.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christopher Lawrence (Program Office) 
at 202-586-5260, or via electronic mail at 
[email protected]; or Rishi Garg (Program Attorney) at 
202-586-0258, or via electronic mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Executive Order (EO) 10485 (Sept. 9, 1953), as amended by EO 12038 
(Feb. 7, 1978), requires that a Presidential permit be issued by DOE 
before electricity transmission facilities may be constructed, 
operated, maintained, or connected at the U.S. border. DOE may issue or 
amend a permit if it determines that the permit is in the public 
interest and after obtaining favorable recommendations from the U.S. 
Departments of State and Defense. In determining whether issuance of a 
permit for a proposed action is in the public interest, DOE considers 
the potential environmental impacts of the proposed project, the 
project's impact on electricity reliability by ascertaining whether the 
proposed project would adversely affect the operation of the U.S. 
electric power supply system under normal and contingency conditions, 
and any other factors that DOE considers relevant to the public 
interest.
    On October 14, 2010, NPT applied to DOE for a Presidential permit 
to

[[Page 31316]]

construct, operate, maintain, and connect an HVDC transmission line 
across the U.S.-Canada border (the proposed Project). On July 1, 2013, 
NPT submitted an amended Presidential permit application to DOE. See 78 
FR 50,405 (Aug. 19, 2013). On August 31, 2015, NPT further amended its 
Presidential permit application. See 80 FR 58,725 (Sept. 30, 2015). The 
amended applications are summarized below.

Applicant's Proposal

    In its July 2013 amended application, NPT proposed to construct and 
operate a primarily overhead HVDC electric transmission line that would 
originate at an HVDC converter station to be constructed at the Des 
Cantons Substation in Val-Joli, Qu[eacute]bec, Canada; run from there 
across the international border to Franklin, New Hampshire, where the 
current would be converted from HVDC to AC; and continue on to its 
southern terminus in Deerfield, New Hampshire. Under this application, 
the proposed facilities were to be capable of transmitting up to 1,200 
MW of power.
    The New Hampshire portion of the proposed Project would be a 
single-circuit, 300-kilovolt (kV) HVDC transmission line running 
approximately 153 miles from the U.S. border crossing with Canada near 
Pittsburg, New Hampshire, to a new HVDC-to-AC transformer facility to 
be constructed in Franklin, New Hampshire. From Franklin to the Project 
terminus at the Public Service Company of New Hampshire's existing 
Deerfield Substation in Deerfield, New Hampshire, the proposed Project 
would consist of 34 miles of 345-kV AC electric transmission line. The 
total length of the proposed Project would be approximately 187 miles.
    NPT's August 2015 application amendment changed the proposed 
transmission line route by adding three miles of buried transmission 
line adjacent to a road not previously analyzed, adding two new 
transition stations (one in Bridgewater, New Hampshire and another in 
Bethlehem, New Hampshire, to transition the transmission line between 
aboveground and buried) of approximately one acre each, and increasing 
the amount of proposed buried transmission line from approximately 
eight miles to approximately 60 miles with a total proposed Project 
length of approximately 192 miles. In addition, the amendment proposed 
a shift (less than 100 feet) in the international border crossing 
location, changed the project size from 1,200 MW to 1,000 MW with a 
potential transfer capability of 1,090 MW, and included other design 
changes (e.g., change in converter technology and type of cable). A 
copy of the amended Presidential permit application and maps of the 
proposed Project route can be found at the DOE environmental impact 
statement (EIS) Web site (http://www.northernpasseis.us).

Technical Reliability Studies

    DOE considers the technical reliability impact of a Presidential 
permit application as part of the public interest determination, and 
typical practice is to review a study or studies prepared for 
interconnection purposes with entities such as the applicable regional 
transmission operator. In conjunction with the Independent System 
Operator of New England (ISO-NE), which operates the grid 
interconnected to the proposed Project, and NPT, the participating 
transmission owner, RLC Engineering prepared interconnection facilities 
studies, which consist of a system impact study and sub-synchronous 
torsional interaction screening study. As a general practice, ISO-NE 
does not make such studies available to the public, as they consist of 
critical electric infrastructure information (CEII). CEII includes 
specific engineering, vulnerability, or detailed design information 
that could be useful to a person planning an attack on critical 
infrastructure. However, in the interest of its commitment to 
transparency, DOE has made available a redacted executive summary of 
the technical transmission studies, as reviewed by ISO-NE to prevent 
publication of CEII, on DOE's project Web site at http://www.northernpasseis.us/ [first go to the ``Project Library'' and then 
select the ``Reliability Studies'' section that has been added at the 
very top of that page]. DOE's posting of the redacted executive summary 
of the Project's interconnection facilities studies, as well as this 
public comment invitation, are meant solely to respond to public 
participation interests unique to this case. The posting neither 
represents nor will constitute a new DOE practice in reviews of future 
Presidential permit applications.
    All comments received in response to this Notice will be posted on 
DOE's Presidential permit Web site at https://energy.gov/oe/services/electricity-policy-coordination-and-implementation/international-electricity-regulation/pending-applications under Docket No. PP-371 and 
made a part of the record in this proceeding to be considered by DOE 
before making a final determination on the issuance of a Presidential 
permit for the NPT Project.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on June 28, 2017.
Brian Mills,
Director, Transmission Development, Transmission Permitting and 
Technical Assistance, Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy 
Reliability.
[FR Doc. 2017-14165 Filed 7-5-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6450-01-P