NEW ORE-WASH WIND CONNECT

BPA begins 500kV transmission line
John McKenna, 20 September 2011 (Windpower Monthly)

"North-west transmission operator the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA)… will begin building a new 500kV transmission line that will run 28 miles between Oregon and Washington state.

"The new high-voltage power line, called the Big Eddy-Knight line, will help BPA move energy from east of the Cascade Mountains to homes and businesses in population centres west of the Cascades. It will provide transmission services to up to 4GW of wind-generating capacity."

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"Construction is tentatively scheduled to start the week of 19 September 2011.

"BPA is currently embroiled in legal action with wind-farm owners in the Pacific Northwest region over nightly curtailments of their projects' electricity output. As of 13 July, a total of 97,557MWh of wind had been curtailed — 6.1% of the scheduled output…[BPA also plans to upgrade] its transmission links with California."