The Smart Path Connect project, one of the largest and most ambitious energy infrastructure projects in New York, recently reached a major milestone with the construction of its 100th pole in mid-April. Although the steel monopoles along the 55-mile Southern Alignment from Croghan to Marcy are the most visible work on the project, significant progress has been made since the ground was broken.
To date, the project on the Southern Alignment has taken over 185,000 work hours and approximately 28,000 survey stakes have been placed along the route. The construction of access roads along the route is about one-third complete.
Smart Path Connect is part of a multi-phase portfolio of projects with the New York Power Authority, which includes the rebuilding of more than 100 miles of transmission lines. The Northern Alignment, a 45-mile segment of transmission between Massena and the town of Clinton, is currently under construction by NYPA crews.
The responsibility for the 55-mile project section between Croghan and the town of Marcy, known as the Southern Alignment, lies with National Grid. Several substations along the way will either be rebuilt or replaced to connect the Southern Alignment with the 86-mile Moses-Adirondack transmission line, which is set to be complete in mid-2023.
Once completed, the Smart Path Connect project will provide more than 1,000 MW of low-cost hydropower generated along the St. Lawrence River, in addition to solar and wind generation in northern New York. This will further reduce the dependence on carbon-emitting plants, and the environmental impact of the project includes annual reductions of 1.16 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions and 160 tons of nitrogen oxide emissions. Smart Path Connect aligns with National Grid’s Fossil Fuel Free Vision and supports the clean energy objectives set forth in New York's Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, which aims to achieve a zero-emissions electricity sector by 2040 and generate 70% renewable energy by 2030.
Construction on the project will run until June 2026.
