Hydro-Québec

PUBLIC CONSULTATION

Fall 2018

Appalaches–Maine Interconnection

In spring 2018, Hydro-Québec began studies for the construction of a new intertie between the Hydro-Québec and Maine power systems, the goal being to increase the energy transmission capacity between Québec and New England.

The project consists of a 320-kilovolt (kV) direct current (DC) transmission line between Appalaches substation in Saint-Adrien-d’Irlande near Thetford Mines and a connection point at the Canada–U.S. border in the municipality of Frontenac. Project plans also call for the installation of a converter at Appalaches substation.

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Consultation on the proposed line routeIn recent months, Hydro-Québec met with representatives of municipalities, local organizations and provincial departments to get their initial feedback on the project.

In the coming weeks, Hydro-Québec will embark on a broad consultation of all parties affected by the proposed line route. Community representatives, landowners, land users and the general public will have an opportunity to meet with the project team and to share their points of view, comment on the proposed line route and discuss what comes next.

Hydro-Québec wants to hear what the community has to say so that the project team can adjust the proposed line route and find the solution with the least impact in order to meet the broadest possible consensus.

Environmental and technical studiesBefore coming up with a line route, Hydro-Québec conducted detailed technical and environmental surveys in the area. This process helped the team identify elements in the study area that are sensitive to the construction of a transmission line.

Proposed line routePairing with an existing line Hydro-Québec plans to run the right-of-way of the new line for about 75 km along an existing line corridor between Appalaches substation and Mégantic substation. This segment of the line route crosses a total of nine municipalities (see table on page 4) between Saint-Adrien- d’Irlande and Nantes.

Pairing the lines has a number of advantages:

1) The integrity of the land is protected because a new line corridor will not have to be opened on mainly private land.

2) Less land will have to be cleared to build the new line, reducing the project’s impact on the environment and on land use.

In this portion of the line route, the new line will have to be located at some distance from the existing line over about 5 km around the Thetford Mines mining area for technical reasons.

New right-of-way between Nantes and FrontenacIn the study area, Hydro-Québec’s network of high-voltage transmission lines ends at Mégantic substation. As there is no existing line that runs to the border, a new corridor had to be developed for the southern part of the study area.

The main siting criteria that guided the development of this part of the line route are as follows:

• Follow lot boundaries as much as possible

• Avoid densely populated areas

• Avoid sugar bushes, wetlands and known wildlife habitats

• Preferably locate the line away from summits, where it would be more visible

This 23-km stretch of the line route runs through the municipalities of Nantes, Sainte-Cécile-de-Whitton and Frontenac to the crossing point east of the ZEC Louise-Gosford.

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Parc nationalde Frontenac

Méganticsubstation

Poste deBeauceville

Appalachessubstation

Beauceville

Saint-Georges

271

173

108

112

269

165

214

269

204

161

LacWilliam

Grand lacSaint-François

LacAylmer

LacNicolet

LacElgin

LacLouise

LacMégantic

Lac auxAraignées

161

108

Maine

Uni

ted

Sta

tes

Les Appalaches(MRC)

LesEtchemins

(MRC)

Les Sources(MRC)

L'Érable(MRC)

Robert-Cliche(MRC)

Le Granit (MRC)

Le Haut-Saint-François (MRC)

Beauce-Sartigan (MRC)

CENTRE-DU-QUÉBEC (17)

CHAUDIÈRES-APPALACHES (12)

ESTRIE (05)

Qué

bec

73

NewHampshire

Rivière

Chaud

ière

Saint-Romain, M

Nantes, M

!

Lac-Mégantic, V

Sainte-Cécile-de-Whitton, M

Saint-Joseph-de-Coleraine, M

Stornoway, M

Stratford, CT

Disraeli, P

Sainte-Praxède, P

ThetfordMines, V

Saint-Adrien-d'Irlande, M

Frontenac, M

!

Disraeli, V

212

ZecLouise-Gosford

ZecSaint-Romain

!

70°30'

70°30'

71°0'

71°0'

71°30'

71°30'

46°0

'

46°0

'

45°3

0'

45°3

0'

Document for information purposes only. For any other use, please contact Géomatique at Hydro-Québec Innovation, équipement and services partagés.

* The boundaries and measurements in this document should not be used for boundary demarcation. No land analysis has been conducted by a land surveyor.

International border

Administrative region

Regional county municipality (MRC)

Municipality

Grouping of sensitive elements

Boundaries Project components

Study area

Proposed line route paired with existing line

Proposed line routein new right-of-way

Crossing point¬\

Substations and transmission lines

120 kV

230 kV

735 kV

Protected area

Biological refuge

Scenic point

Public land

Property of Domtar*

Sensitive elements

Wind farm

Infrastructure

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0 5,75 11,5 km

MTM, zone 7, NAD83 (SCRS)7578_bu_get_020_infoconsult_181106a.mxd

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Municipalities crossed by the proposed line route

MRC Municipality Length (km)

Appalaches

Saint-Adrien- d’Irlande

(M)3.6

Thetford Mines (V) 11.3

Saint-Joseph- de-Coleraine

(M)14.7

Disraeli (P) 6.8

Sainte-Praxède (P) 3.4

Subtotal 39.8

Granit

Stratford (CT) 9.9

Stornoway (M) 14.8

Saint-Romain (M) 0.8

Nantes (M) 16.1

Sainte-Cécile- de-Whitton

(M)5.5

Frontenac (M) 16.3

Subtotal 63.4

Total 103.2

Length of line running along existing line corridor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75.2 km

Length of line in protected agricultural land . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63.6 km

Existing right-of-way

About 29 m

About 21.5 m About 21.5 m

About 43 m

About 25 m 45.7 m

Planned 320-kV DC line

Planned 320-kV DC line

Existing 120-kVAC line

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33 m

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Planned right-of-way

Planned right-of-way

Ligne jumelée avec une ligne existanteentre Stornoway et Nantes

Ligne dans un nouveau couloirentre Nantes et le point de traversée

Ligne d’interconnexion des Appalaches–Maine

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Existing right-of-way

About 29 m

About 21.5 m About 21.5 m

About 43 m

About 25 m 45.7 m

Planned 320-kV DC line

Planned 320-kV DC line

Existing 120-kVAC line

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33 m

to 5

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Planned right-of-way

Planned right-of-way

Ligne jumelée avec une ligne existanteentre Stornoway et Nantes

Ligne dans un nouveau couloirentre Nantes et le point de traversée

Ligne d’interconnexion des Appalaches–Maine

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Towers

For this project, Hydro-Québec plans to design a new tower which will reduce required land clearing.

Line paired with existing line between Stornoway and Nantes

Clearance of about 25 m is required where the new line is paired with the existing line.

Line in new right-of-way between Nantes and crossing point

Clearance of about 43 m is required to create the new corridor.

100 %

2018

E318

2-A

Appalaches substation in Saint-Adrien-d’Irlande

Tangible support for community developmentHydro-Québec sees its projects as an opportunity to contribute to the vitality of host communities. As a result, the public utility grants eligible organizations funding, through its Integrated Enhancement Program, for projects that improve life in the community.

These initiatives can involve municipal, community or recreational infrastructure, the environment, tourism or regional development.

Project scheduleDraft-design studiesSpring 2018 – summer 2019

PermittingSummer 2019 – winter 2021

ConstructionSpring 2021 – fall 2022

CommissioningFall 2022

For more information hydro.quebec/appalaches-maine

Appalaches MRC COLETTE LETTRE-RACINE Advisor – Community Relations Direction – Affaires régionales et collectivitéslettreracine.colette@hydro.qc.ca

INFO-PROJECT LINE: 1 8 5 5 8 4 5-7 4 1 7

Du Granit MRC NADINE JEANNOTTE Advisor – Community RelationsDirection – Affaires régionales et collectivitésjeannotte.nadine@hydro.qc.ca

INFO-PROJECT LINE: 1 8 7 7 6 5 3-1 1 3 9

Abenaki Communities PATRIC FRIGON Advisor – Indigenous RelationsDirection – Relations avec les autochtones5 1 4 2 8 9-2 2 1 1, extension 8 7 9 0frigon.patric@hydro.qc.ca

Ce document est également publié en français.

Original text written in French.