City to reapply to utilities board for path

The city of Ames plans to reapply next month to the Iowa Utilities Board for approval to build a high-voltage transmission line to an electrical substation in northeast Ankeny.

The Ames City Council on Tuesday approved purchasing eight agreements in Polk County for almost $65,000. The next step will be to petition the Iowa Utilities Board in January for a franchise for the path that predominantly follows Interstate 35.

"This line is needed to improve the amount of power we can import into the city, and strengthen our reliability," Donald Kom, electrical services director, said Wednesday. "This is a huge undertaking."

Groundwork on the project began in 2004. The city, however, could not obtain easements for the original route through Huxley, and the Iowa Utilities Board in 2008 turned down an earlier petition for a franchise based on how the route was selected.

The proposed route now deviates east from Interstate 35 just north of Huxley to 570th Street and runs south for four miles before returning to the interstate, Kom said.

"We're hopeful before the end of 2010 to start construction," he said.

Construction of the approximately 22 miles of transmission line will take about six months, Kom said. He said the utility is aiming for completion in March 2011.

Coal contracts

The city council on Tuesday also approved a contract with Coal Sales LLC for super low-sulfur western coal produced by Peabody's North Antelope Rochell Mine outside Gillette, Wyo.

The city's contract to purchase coal from the same mine through Powder River Coal Company for $9.25 per ton expires on Dec. 31. The new three-year contract will raise the per-ton price to $10 in 2010, $12 in 2011, and $13 in 2012.

"There was a cheaper bidder," Kom said, but the higher sodium oxide content of its ash would plug sections of the boiler and require cleaning. "We took the lowest cost coal that will do the best in our plant, and best for our environment."

Ames' electric utility uses 225,000 to 300,000 tons of coal per year.

The city had to rebid contracts for coal and delivery after Central Iowa Terminal withdrew its July 2008 proposal when it was unable to build a terminal near Nevada.

The city council will hold a special meeting at noon Tuesday to approve a contract for delivering the coal. An agreement negotiated with the only bidder is "not an ideal contract, but it's a livable contract," Kom said.

Wind energy

The city council also formalized an agreement with Iowa State University, whereby the university will purchase 6 megawatts of the 36 megawatts of wind energy the city will buy from Garden Wind LLC, a wind farm in Story County. The 20-year wind energy agreement starts in January.