ND BUYS IN ON MIDWEST WIRES FOR WIND

3,000-mile Green Power Express has ND partner
James MacPherson, July 7, 2009 (AP via Forbes)

"Bismarck-based MDU Resources Group Inc. is the first to join a Michigan company developing a high-voltage power line that its backers say would transmit wind energy from the Dakotas to homes in Chicago and other cities.

"ITC Holdings Corp., of Novi, Mich., has proposed the Green Power Express project, a 3,000-mile, 765-kilovolt power line from the Dakotas to the Chicago area. It would cost up to $12 billion and go online in 2020. Backers say the Green Power Express is intended to move wind-powered electricity through parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana."

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"…[T]erms of the agreement are still being negotiated and will not be disclosed. The project, which is still being planned, will still need other backers and financing to move forward…MDU's participation should spur agreements with other companies…

"MDU, an energy, mining and construction company with operations in 44 states and Brazil, is North Dakota's only Fortune 500 company. It also is based in a state touted as among those with the best wind energy potential in the U.S. The state is among the windiest in the nation because its flat, largely treeless terrain is at the "polar front," an area where cold air from Canada meets warm subtropical air…"

It's easy to understand why a big energy company would want to get this to market. But is it an excuse to get more coal to market? (click to enlarge)

"…[T]he exact spot where the line would begin in North Dakota has not been set…[T]he project is not designed to tie in with existing wind farms in North Dakota, or to supply power to North Dakota…North Dakota would benefit from jobs during the construction phase and from tax revenue…The line is still in the early planning stages and faces several regulatory hurdles…[I]t could be years before the project is under way…

"…[D] evelopers have identified 12,000 megawatts of wind-generated electricity that could be sent through the line…Under federal law…the power line also could be used to transmit electricity from other sources, some not considered so green…"