CONTROVERSY ON THE WIRES

Huge wind-energy transmission line proposal gets mixed reaction around state
Leslie Brooks Suzukamo, March 9, 2009 (Twin Cities Pioneer Press)

"The Great Plains have been called "the Saudi Arabia of wind energy." But because the windiest areas tend to be sparsely populated, much of that wind power might go unused without a way to move the energy to where the people are.

"Now a Michigan company is proposing to build a 765-kilovolt transmission line called "The Green Power Express" from the gusty Dakotas through Minnesota to Chicago. The 3,000-mile project, which is estimated to cost $10 billion to $12 billion, could be among the first of a new generation of energy superhighways that help the Midwest feed the nation's appetite for renewable energy."

click to enlarge

"But not everyone agrees that wind energy should be an exportable commodity like corn or soybeans. And…transmission lines are a much harder sell, drawing opposition from local landowners, environmentalists and even some renewable-energy advocates.

"The nation is seeing the biggest push for new transmission lines since the rural electrification projects of the 1930s…Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, introduced a bill last week to speed up approval of transmission projects for renewable energy, with a call to reserve 75 percent of new transmission for renewable energy in areas such as the Great Plains, Texas and the West.

"His legislation wouldn't allow lines to pass through states without letting those states contribute their renewable energy. If state regulators move too slowly, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission would step in."

An alternative, larger scale proposal put forward by U.S. grid operators. (click to enlarge)

"Most renewable energy advocates are delighted…But others characterize the push for high-voltage lines as misguided, expensive and unnecessary…The support for massive projects such as the Green Power Express will override carefully developed state regulations that call for the least-cost alternatives, say critics…

"In southeastern Minnesota, landowners and residents have organized to oppose a transmission project called CapX 2020… backed by 11 regional utilities…The Citizens Energy Task Force was created to fight CapX 2020, and it also opposes the Green Power Express, fearing both will act as Trojan horses to bring in power from coal plants in the Dakotas instead of wind power…"