Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship, on assignment for The Charlotte News

By Lucia McCallum

As Nancy Wood watched the almost block-long cluster of vessels float before her earlier this month, she recalls, all she could think was: “It was the biggest thing I had ever seen on the lake.”

The vessels Wood, Charlotte resident and founder of The Charlotte News, spotted Oct. 4 were barges helping install the Champlain Hudson Power Express, a project working to create a 339-mile, high-voltage transmission line from Quebec to Queens, New York, a large portion of which will rest under Lake Champlain’s waves.

The project aims to eventually provide New York City with 20% of its annual energy needs through hydropower. It’s pegged to cost some $6 billion, according to builder Transmission Developers, which is owned by private equity titan Blackstone.

Though a spokesperson for the project said the barge would never cross New York’s state line and would have no impact on the town of Charlotte, the barge sparked curiosity for some. For about a week, it was stationed north of Essex, New York, where Wood said she took a picture of the vessel from her motorboat.

It then headed south and was visible from Charlotte for a couple of days.

The section of the transmission line in Lake Champlain is submarine, but the project also has terrestrial routes that begin near Lake George, New York. Wood remembers watching the barge first head north to start its work toward the Canadian border in August.

“I’d kind of done some research into it at that time,” she said, “but it wasn’t until after we actually went out and circled it that we saw that it’s actually three barges.”

The vessels consist of two barges that transport the cable and one that places it. The high-voltage electric cables are sometimes installed through a process called jetplowing, which involves using high-powered water jets to blast trenches for the cable to be placed in.

In similar projects nationwide, some have raised concerns that the process can disturb ecosystems, but Wood said she is more curious than worried about its environmental implications.

“I think it’s great to have Hydro Quebec power going to New York City,” she said, “and I haven’t read anything that indicates it’s a serious threat to the ecology of Lake Champlain.”

As part of the project, developers have allocated $117 million over 35 years to fund environmental protection programs through the Hudson River and Lake Champlain Habitat Enhancement, Restoration and Research/Habitat Improvement Trust Fund. A governance committee, which includes New York environmental regulators, has been established to manage it.

As the vessels continue down the southern portion of their route on Lake Champlain, the project is set to reach its expected completion goal of mid-2026. Beyond the behemoth barges, Vermonters can expect a quieter scene on the lake as they stow away their boats and settle in for winter. For Wood, the barge was a welcomed change of scenery this fall.

“It was a very interesting sight to see out in the middle of the lake,” she said, “and I felt fortunate to be one of the people to get a chance to get up close to look at it.”