www.windaction.org | Transmission

Wind-power plan kicks up scuffle; Aim is to help Google-backed company transport energy
November 2, 2010 by Jim Snyder in Bloomberg News

Utilities led by Southern of Atlanta and Public Service Enterprise Group of Newark, N.J., say the rule may force their customers to pay for long, expensive power lines when better local options are available. FERC's rule may lead to "socializing" transmission costs, said Sue Sheridan, president and general counsel for the utility-sponsored Coalition for Fair Transmission Pricing in Washington. "We stand for the cheapest renewable resources."

Also filed under [ USA]

Overhead power lines spark criticism
November 1, 2010 by Roger Amsden in Union Leader

The $1.1 billion Northern Pass Project will see a 140-mile-long transmission line built on structures ranging from 90 to 135 feet tall from Quebec to Franklin. The utility will need to acquire a new right of way through Coos County -- 45 miles from the Canadian border.

Also filed under [ New Hampshire]

Wind energy producers face wall in moving power east
October 31, 2010 by Dan Piller in Des Moines Register

"Resistance from some Eastern states, Massachusetts in particular, has become stronger and stronger," said Stanley, part of a working group of 39 state energy and utility regulators. Easterners have made it clear that Iowa and the Midwest can build all the transmission it wants, so long as it pays all the costs. Midwesterners beg to differ.

Also filed under [ USA| Iowa]

Google's wind-power grid would benefit from disputed U.S. rule
October 29, 2010 by Jim Snyder in Bloomberg News

FERC determines whether transmission pricing plans submitted by regional grid operators and utilities are "just and reasonable." Its proposed rule would mandate that the plans "account for transmission needs driven by public-policy requirements" -- including standards calling for the use of more renewable energy -- alongside cost and reliability.

Also filed under [ USA]

Wind farm routes debated
October 29, 2010 by Nancy Madsen in Watertown Daily News

"While the original proposed route and the other land-based alternatives present the most reasonably economic method of delivering the power from the project to the public, the sub-aquatic alternative has the advantage of being preferable from an aesthetic standpoint," Mr. Burgdorf wrote.

Also filed under [ New York]

MATL transmission poles go up
October 28, 2010 by Karl Puckett in Great Falls Tribune

van't Hoff said 31 transmission lines cross the border dividing Canada and the United States, but MATL is the first in which users of a line - in this case wind developers - will pay for the transmission as opposed to utility ratepayers. Three wind-farm developers and the Western Area Power Administration have shipping space reserved.

Also filed under [ Montana]

CEO: Lack of power lines barrier to development
October 28, 2010 by Rebecca Penty in NB Business Journal

Current transmission costing schemes are geared toward reliability of the power grid - not public policy - so unless power systems need more lines to balance loads and demand, proponents have to shell out the huge sums of money to build transmission to get their clean power to market.

Also filed under [ Canada]

Wind power showdown set in Austin
October 25, 2010 by Tracy Idell Hamilton in San Antonio Express-News

Some of the very lawmakers who authored that law, under pressure from constituents, since have asked whether some of the planned lines still are needed. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which manages the state grid, has reported back that two segments could be rejected in favor of beefing up existing lines.

Also filed under [ Texas]

Wind Power's Location, Location, Location
October 21, 2010 by Janet Pelley in Chemical & Engineering News

To generate the same power output, the researchers calculated that the local site would require taller and higher-efficiency turbines than the distant sites would. So a wind farm in the Great Plains would cost 25% less to install than one near Chicago would. But building new lines from distant sites is expensive.

Also filed under [ USA]

MATL eminent domain claim for powerline route heard in Cut Bank court
October 19, 2010 by Kimball Bennion in Great Falls Tribune

Although Tonbridge already has begun construction on the stretch north of Cut Bank, Salois' son, Larry, and other landowners have argued that a foreign private corporation has no right to invoke eminent domain, a right that Salois' lawyer, Hertha Lund, said belongs to the state.

Also filed under [ Montana]

Price tag for wind transmission; $20 billion and up
October 18, 2010 by Dan Piller in Des Moines Register

The MidAmerican/AEP proposal is the only wind transmission plan. ITC Holdings of Michigan, which owns and operates Alliant Energy's transmission sysstem in Iowa, already as preliminary approval from federal regulators to approach investors about a similar line from the Dakotas through Iowa across the Mississippi River to serve urban markets to the east.

Also filed under [ Iowa]

Utility airs plan to protect birds
October 18, 2010 in Star-Advertiser

Most of the utility's electrical transmission and distribution system consists of overhead wires and poles that pose a threat to the nocturnal seabirds.

Also filed under [ Hawaii]

Will power proposal be 'green'? Conservation groups vow to watch process closely
October 17, 2010 by Tara Ballenger in Concord Monitor

As Northeast Utilities and Hydro-Quebec begin seeking state and federal approval for the construction of Northern Pass, a $1.1 billion dollar project that would bring 1,200 megawatts of energy from a dam in Canada to southern New Hampshire, environmental groups say that it's too early to tell if the project will end up being truly "green." ...About 50 miles of the power lines will be in new territory, and 130 miles will use existing paths. In the new territory, a path of about 150 feet would be cleared to accommodate the power lines.

Also filed under [ New Hampshire| Canada]

Wind's future share in doubt
October 16, 2010 by Jaime Adame in Abilene Reporter-News

A recent study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on the future of natural gas found that 80 years' worth of global natural gas consumption could be developed profitably with a gas price of $4 per 1,000 cubic feet or below. Plans for nuclear plants and wind farms were made under the assumption that gas prices would average $7 to $9.

Also filed under [ General| Texas]

Up to $100B in transmission investments needed to meet portfolio standards
October 15, 2010 in SustainableBusiness.com

"Without a multi-billion investment on the order of $50 to $100 billion, our nation's transmission capabilities will be insufficient to allow for the integration of enough renewable power sources into the high voltage grid to meet the RPS requirements," Mr. Pfeifenberger said in his comments.

Also filed under [ USA]

PUC Staff Plan Less-Intrusive
October 14, 2010 in Fredericks Standard

At stake is where large transmission towers carrying electricity from West Texas wind farms to urban areas in the eastern portion of the state will be located. Also at issue is whether existing private power lines might be improved and utilized.

Also filed under [ Texas]

Google strategy frustrates investors
October 14, 2010 in Associated Press

In its self-proclaimed drive to make the world a better place, Google has immersed itself in far more than Internet search and online ads. But driverless cars and a wind energy farm in the Atlantic Ocean?

Also filed under [ USA]

Falcon-area residents convince wind power company to change its plans
October 13, 2010 by R. Scott Rappold in The Gazette

It took a handful of loosely-affiliated residents just over a month to convince California-based Clipper Windpower to change plans for bringing that wind energy to Colorado Springs. This week, the company agreed to bury the high-voltage transmission lines through their area, at five times the cost

Also filed under [ Colorado]

Delaware energy: Transmission line planned off East Coast
October 13, 2010 by Aaron Nathans in The News Journal

Google's investment in an underwater transmission line that would connect offshore wind farms from northern New Jersey to Virginia offered a jolt of energy to the industry Tuesday, but developers worried it could hold back projects planned off Delaware and New Jersey.

Also filed under [ USA]

Offshore wind power line wins praise, and backing
October 12, 2010 by Matthew L. Wald in New York Times

Trans-Elect estimated that construction would cost $5 billion, plus financing and permit fees. The $1.8 billion first phase, a 150-mile stretch from northern New Jersey to Rehoboth Beach, Del., could go into service by early 2016, it said. The rest would not be completed until 2021 at the earliest.

Also filed under [ USA]