Clean Energy Transmission Line In Long Island City Completed

LONG ISLAND CITY, QUEENS — A new six-mile transmission line that will bring clean energy to Long Island City and Astoria by connecting two substations in Queens was completed on Wednesday, Con Edison announced.

The transmission line connects the Corona substation to the Rainey substation, which will carry 300 megawatts, or enough electricity for 240,000 average-sized homes.

The project was energized following the closure of a fossil-fuel plant on Monday as part of Con Edison's goal to build a grid that can carry 100 percent clean energy by 2040. The energy company has injected about $800 million into its Reliable Clean City projects.

“Queens is done with the days of disinvestment in our health — both the health of our families and the health of our environment," said Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. "There is no mission more critical than our transformation into a borough run on renewable energy."

Con Edison began construction of the $275 million transmission line in 2021 as well as a slew of other clean energy endeavors, including the Rainey to Corona project, the Gowanus to Greenwood project, and the Goethals to Fox Hills project.

Those projects are expected to be completed in 2025 and will add 900 megawatts of transmission capacity across the city.