It is still too early for ITC Holdings Corp. to pinpoint the routes for its Green Power Express, but Dane County representatives already are skeptical of a path through the region. "People try to sell lots of ideas with green trimmings," said Dane County Supervisor Kyle Richmond. "But we'll still want to know who's going to pay for it, if they're guaranteed profit and if there's a reasonable analysis of the need for this project."

It is still too early for ITC Holdings Corp. to pinpoint the routes for its Green Power Express, but Dane County representatives already are skeptical of a path through the region.

"People try to sell lots of ideas with green trimmings," said Dane County Supervisor Kyle Richmond. "But we'll still want to know who's going to pay for it, if they're guaranteed profit and if there's a reasonable analysis of the need for this project."

Richmond, who already stated his opposition to American Transmission Co. LLC's plans for a 345-kilovolt line from Rockdale to West Middleton, said committing to renewable energy is great, but ITC's plan to use a 765-kV, multistate line to attain wind power might be overkill.

"I'm not sure why smaller scale ideas aren't being looked at," he said. "We should get the public and multiple layers of government to look at localizing an energy source that's smaller and can maybe be paid for at a reasonable rate."

ATC's project raised the ire of county and Madison officials, and with ITC's planned route through the Madison area, Richmond said local vetting will be important.

But Lisa Aragon, ITC's director of strategic initiatives, said the company's tentative map for the multibillion-dollar transmission line is still years away from completion.

"It's premature to say where exactly it's going," she said. "This is obviously a project that requires various regulatory approvals at several state levels. We will work with communities to identify the best routes for that project, but I'd say that type of discussion is at least two years away."

If local opposition to the project is strong, Aragon said, ITC will work with other nearby communities.

How that project will compliment ATC's lines throughout the Dane County area will be a vital component to local response, said Tom Still, president of the Wisconsin Technology Council.

"But as a general proposition, (the multistate line) makes sense," he said. "Historically, Wisconsin has had less access to outside power than other states. In some ways, the state is physically isolated in terms of the power grid.

"We push for regional growth."

Richmond said regional growth is good, but he does not want a proposal rammed down the county's throat.

"Before agreeing to be part of someone's highway," he said, "I think we need to ask a lot of questions and determine if this is something we really want."

Web link: http://www.dailyreporter.com/item.cfm?recid=200507...