The Hidden History of Quebec's Hydropower
Energy Gang
Wood Mackenzie
4.6 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 8 December 2017
⏱️ 53 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Southern New England is hungry for more clean energy, and states like Connecticut and Massachusetts are turning to Hydro-Quebec for its excess hydropower.
There's one sticking point: they need a new transmission line to get all that power from Northern Quebec. And citizens in the states that could host new transmission projects -- New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine -- are resisting construction plans.
A lot of attention has focused on controversial transmission projects like Northern Pass. But what about the source of the electrons feeding the line?
In this week's podcast, we talk with Sam Evans-Brown, a journalist who's been exploring the history of Canadian hydro. It's a decades-long story filled with conflict, controversy, racism, and billions of dollars at stake.
Sam is host of the Outside/In podcast. He and his colleague Hannah McCarthy just published a 4-part audio series, called Powerline, about the hydropower working its way down to the Northeastern U.S. We'll talk about the stories they uncovered.
Then, Cape Wind is dead. We’ll have a eulogy.
And finally, we'll discuss that tax bill again. It’s messier than anyone thought possible.
This podcast is sponsored by Mission Solar Energy, a solar module manufacturer based in San Antonio, Texas. You can find out more about Mission’s American-made, high-power modules at missionsolar.com.
Are you coming to GTM's Storage Summit on December 12-13? Podcast listeners get 20 percent off their registration with the promo code PODCASTS.
Recommended reading and listening:
- Outside/In: The 4-part Powerline series
- GTM: Cape Wind’s Demise Comes Amidst a Resurgence for US Offshore Wind
- GTM: Senate Doubles Down on Tax Provisions That Would Harm Renewable Energy
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This Podcast is brought to you by Mission Solar Energy, a solar module manufacturer based in San Antonio, Texas. |
| 0:07.0 | Mission Solar modules are designed, engineered, and assembled in their Texas-based 200 megawatt facility and serve residential commercial government and utility applications. |
| 0:17.5 | Adhering to the strictest quality standards, Mission Solar's modules outperform their |
| 0:21.8 | competition in real-world conditions, proving to be an easy choice |
| 0:25.4 | for installers, distributors, and developers. |
| 0:28.4 | To find out more about Mission's High Power American Quality modules, visit Mission Solar.com. |
| 0:34.0 | From Green Tech Media, this is the Energy Gang, |
| 0:40.0 | a weekly digest on energy, clean tech and the environment. |
| 0:43.0 | I'm Stephen Lacey, welcome. |
| 0:45.0 | This week, the hidden story behind a controversial power line in the Northeast |
| 0:54.4 | how the quest for more clean energy fueled a 50-year struggle over racism, land |
| 0:58.9 | rights, billions of dollars, international law, and good old-fashioned respect. |
| 1:03.8 | We've got a reporter with us who unearthed this story after years of covering the Northern |
| 1:07.1 | Past Transmission Project and after months of reporting. |
| 1:11.2 | Then Cape Wind is dead. We'll have a eulogy. And finally that tax bill again, it's messier than anyone thought possible. |
| 1:18.0 | And I'm joined by Catherine Hamilton, a partner with 38 North Solutions. |
| 1:23.7 | They're in D.C. |
| 1:24.6 | Hey, Catherine. |
| 1:25.8 | Hi. |
| 1:26.8 | And Jigger Shaw is in D.C. as well. |
| 1:29.7 | He's the president of Generate Capital. |
| 1:31.8 | How's it going? |
... |
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