Sarah Trafton is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media the Greene County Industrial Development Authority is preparing a payment in lieu of taxes, or PILOT, agreement with the developers of a hydroelectric project that would traverse nine taxing jurisdictions. The Champlain Hudson Power Express, a project proposed by Transmission Developers Inc., of Albany, is a 333-mile underwater and underground electric transmission line that would import 1,000 megawatts of renewable energy from Canada to New York City. The $3 billion infrastructure project will be will be privately funded, according to the company. IDA Executive Director Rene VanSchaack acknowledged that his agency has never done a project like this one before. The transmission line would pass through the towns of Coxsackie, New Baltimore, Catskill and Athens, and the villages of Coxsackie and Catskill. he said. The draft PILOT agreement is expected to be finished later this spring. The IDA will conduct a public hearing on the agreement before a vote is taken. “Personally, I think all the towns will be happy with the direction we’re trying to go,” VanSchaack said. Champlain Hudson Power Express has requested a 30-year PILOT, an exemption from the mortgage recording tax, and sales and use tax. The developers have promised that 1,100 construction jobs would be created throughout the state over a four-year period. Construction is projected to begin in September and end in 2025. Once the system is operational, more than 800 long-term jobs would be created statewide, according to Transmission Developers. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.