Electrical upgrade proposed near Hwy. 19
February 22nd, 2007Sibley County will be part of a large improvement to electrical transmission serving most of the state.
Randy Fordice, project communications coordinator with Great River Energy, met with Sibley County Commissioners last week to share the plan of the CapX2020 Transmission Plan: Ensuring Reliable Electricity.
Fordice said Sibley County will be affected by a proposed 250 mile, 345 kilovolt line from Brookings, SD to the Southeast Twin Cities. The purpose of the project is to improve reliability of electricity in West Central Minnesota, Minnesota River Valley and Twin Cities. The line is proposed to be in-service 2012-2014.
An alliance of 11 electric cooperatives, municipals and investor-owned utilities formed in the spring of 2004 to form a plan to provide electrical expansion to Minnesota by 2020.
Other lines are proposed from the Southeast Twin Cities - Rochester and La Crosse; Bemidji - Grand Rapids; and Fargo - St. Cloud/Monticello. These three lines are also proposed to be in-service in 2012 - 2014.
Another project, a 345 kilovolt transmission loop around the Twin Cities, is proposed to be in-service from 2014 - 2020.
A Certificate of Need (CON) will be filed by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission this spring, according to Fordice.
It takes several years to work through the route. The proposed route now is a 12 mile area along Highway 19. Permitting and routing decisions in Minnesota are made by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission with public input and utility recommendations, he explained.
Fordice said that the utilities prefer to have as minimal impact as possible. The utilities prefer single pole, steel structures so farmers can “farm right up to them,” he said. Right of Way acquisition is not expected to begin until 2010.
Other state and federal permits needed for the project are route permits from the Minnesota Public Utilities Commissioners, South Dakota Public Utilities Commission (for the Brookings -Twin Cities line), North Dakota Public Utilities Commission (Fargo - St. Cloud/Monticello), Wisconsin Public Service Commission (Twin Cities-Rochester-La Crosse line), Rural Utilities Service, Corps of Engineers (major river crossings), U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (if the line cross lands), Tribal approvals (if line crosses lands), process to coordinate reviews will be developed with all major agencies.
Timeline for obtaining the permits is 2007 - 2010.
The project will require a conditional use permit through Sibley County Planning and Zoning, Fordice said.
CapX2020 utilities will partner with affected counties to develop routes and determine substation sites.
For more information on the project, visit www.CapX2020.com on the World Wide Web.
