Appalaches-Maine Interconnection

Environmental approach

Our decision to select this route was made based on an environmental approach involving the following steps:

• Describe the environment.
• Analyze the technical and environmental constraints as well as the sensitive elements.
• Develop a route.
• Assess the impacts.
• Identify appropriate mitigation measures.
• Agree on the follow‑ups to be conducted once the new line has been commissioned.

These steps, which were carried out in collaboration with the host community helped us to develop a solution and then adjust and refine it based on specific regional realities

Project optimization

As a result of numerous exchanges with host communities, the following modifications have been made to the project so far:

• The route of the approximately 24‑km segment of the new line in the Du Granit MRC has been relocated to protect woodlands or follow lot boundaries.
• To the extent possible, the future tower sites have been determined in accordance with landowners’ requests, to avoid valued elements on their properties.
• The line route has been adjusted to ensure the safe coexistence of the power line and the region’s extensive logging operations.
• The commitment has been made to plant shrub species that are compatible with the future power line to limit the impact of land clearing operations on certain properties.
• The project schedule has been adjusted to take the sugar bush season into account

• Hydro‑Québec has developed a new family of towers for this project: the conductors are located on one side only, thus reducing the width of the right-of-way to be cleared
• Each tower will be made up of a positive pole (+320 kV) and a negative pole (−320 kV)
• Each pole will be equipped with two conductors
• The line will be supported by approximately 320 towers
• The average distance between towers will be 325 m
• The right‑of‑way to be cleared will be 43 m wide where the line runs alone (27 % of the line route) and 10 to 25 m wide where it is paired with an existing line (73 % of the line route).

Power line in a new corridor between Nantes and the crossing point