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PUC expected to make decision on wind transmission lines in April

American-Statesman|Asher Price|March 31, 2010
TexasTransmission

After a string of hearings, open houses and debates, the Public Utility Commission is preparing to make decisions in April on the hotly contested routes for the transmission lines bearing West Texas wind power to the central part of the state. On April 15, the PUC will take up a portion that runs from Fredericksburg to Kempner, which is just east of Lampasas, that will be operated by the Lower Colorado River Authority.


Hearings come after months of wrangling in open houses and before judges.

After a string of hearings, open houses and debates, the Public Utility Commission is preparing to make decisions in April on the hotly contested routes for the transmission lines bearing West Texas wind power to the central part of the state.

On April 15, the PUC will take up a portion that runs from Fredericksburg to Kempner, which is just east of Lampasas, that will be operated by the Lower Colorado River Authority.

Although some environmental groups support the lines because they wean the state from carbon-burning sources such as coal, some birders, property owners and land conservationists say it will fragment habitat and destroy Hill Country vistas.

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Hearings come after months of wrangling in open houses and before judges.

After a string of hearings, open houses and debates, the Public Utility Commission is preparing to make decisions in April on the hotly contested routes for the transmission lines bearing West Texas wind power to the central part of the state.

On April 15, the PUC will take up a portion that runs from Fredericksburg to Kempner, which is just east of Lampasas, that will be operated by the Lower Colorado River Authority.

Although some environmental groups support the lines because they wean the state from carbon-burning sources such as coal, some birders, property owners and land conservationists say it will fragment habitat and destroy Hill Country vistas.

The lines could be strung from tower to tower, each as tall as 180 feet and about 1,300 feet apart. They will run through a clear-cut easement as wide as 160 feet.

An administrative law judge in mid-March sided with landowners by recommending to the PUC that the river authority use subtler monopoles instead of lattice towers for portions of the route. The judge also recommended one of LCRA's alternate routes as a first choice instead of the LCRA's preferred route, partly because the alternate route would use more existing right of way.

The recommendation placated some landowners - the ones who had been along that preferred route.

"These ranchers have had property in their families for many generations and have been working hard to protect it and to preserve it," said Buddy Steele, a lawyer for ranch owners to the west and north of Lake Buchanan, which sits along the LCRA's preferred route.

But the opinion upset those whose property is now the first choice of the administrative law judge.

Jim Boyle, a lawyer who represents some of those property owners, said the lines could hamper tourism around Inks Lake, which is just south of Lake Buchanan along the route preferred by the judge. Inks Lake is a getaway for retirees, fishermen and boaters, he said.

The LCRA won the right to build, own and operate about 600 miles of new and existing transmission lines to link centers of renewable energy to consumers. The LCRA efforts amount to about $795 million of the $4.9 billion project, according to estimates by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which operates the Texas grid.

Similar disputes over the positioning of power lines are taking place throughout the state.

On Thursday , for example, the PUC plans to take up a line that will be operated by Oncor Electric Delivery Co. and that runs through part of Lampasas County. Another LCRA line, which heads from the San Angelo area down to Comfort and back toward Fredericksburg, will not come before the PUC until later this year.

"I have questions about whether bringing wind power is for the greater good," said Amy Thompson, whose family owns 1,200 acres in Mills County in the potential path of an Oncor line. She said that not enough environmental assessment has been done about how clear-cutting will affect wildlife.

"We'll build whatever the PUC tells us to build, with respect for and consideration for landowners on the route," said Catherine Cuellar, a spokeswoman for Oncor.

The wind transmission line issue has spun out of a state legislative mandate to raise the amount of power Texans get from renewable sources.

A March report titled "Greasy Transmission" by Texans for Public Justice, a government watchdog group, found that since lawmakers directed the PUC to pursue renewable energy transmission lines in 2005, "the political committees and executives of companies linked to the $5 billion in transmission contracts have pumped $4.5 million into state political campaigns."


Source:http://www.statesman.com/news…

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