NEW TRANSMISSION MEANS NEW WIND, NEW JOBS

Clean Line Energy Signs Agreement With Conductor Manufacturer; Transmission Line Project Will Lead To Increased Demand For Wind Products Manufactured In Illinois
March 6, 2012 (Clean Line Energy Partners)

"Clean Line Energy Partners LLC announced an agreement…designating Southwire as the preferred supplier for the overhead transmission cable for the Rock Island Clean Line…[T]he cable will be produced from Southwire’s facility in Flora, Illinois…The Rock Island Clean Line transmission line project will consist of an approximate 500-mile overhead, high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line that will deliver 3,500 megawatts of renewable power from Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and South Dakota to communities and businesses in Illinois and other states to the east. The line will end near Morris, Illinois where it will interconnect with the PJM system…

"…[The Southwire] facility expects to produce cable over a 12 to 14 month period of time…Clean Line’s potential future supply order from Southwire could be worth $70 million or more…In addition to an estimated $1.7 billion in direct costs for the Rock Island Clean Line HVDC itself, the Rock Island Clean Line will make possible approximately $7 billion worth of investments in new wind energy projects, which today cannot be constructed due to the lack of transmission…"

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"…[As a result of the new wind farms] Southwire could realize additional benefits of $30 million or more in additional sales by producing and selling cables that are used within the turbine, placed down the tower and buried underground for the power collections systems…

"…[Construction of the Rock Island Clean Line could begin as early as 2014 and may continue over the next few years…[It] will create hundreds of direct construction jobs… [and completion] should also lead to increased employment for…wind energy manufacturing companies…[The line] will…deliver enough energy to power more than 1.4 million Midwest homes. Clean Line estimates that property taxes on the transmission lines will generate millions of dollars annually in Illinois and will be distributed to counties where the line is routed…"