The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Thursday approved a plan to pay for the massive power line upgrades needed to boost wind farm construction in the region. The Southwest Power Pool, a regional cooperative of electrical utilities that includes Kansas, sought approval to spread the entire $1.1 billion cost for the larger lines across all of its 5 million customers in eight states.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Thursday approved a plan to pay for the massive power line upgrades needed to boost wind farm construction in the region. The Southwest Power Pool, a regional cooperative of electrical utilities that includes Kansas, sought approval to spread the entire $1.1 billion cost for the larger lines across all of its 5 million customers in eight states.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Thursday approved a plan to pay for the massive power line upgrades needed to boost wind farm construction in the region.
The Southwest Power Pool, a regional cooperative of electrical utilities that includes Kansas, sought approval to spread the entire $1.1 billion cost for the larger lines across all of its 5 million customers in eight states.
Previously, the cost would have been borne primarily by the local utilities and their ratepayers. This includes a double-circuit 345-kilovolt line from Spearville to Wichita for $356 million.
The approval is a critical hurdle in the development of wind power in Kansas, said Westar Energy spokeswoman Karla Olsen.
Kansas is ranked second in the …
... more [truncated due to possible copyright]The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Thursday approved a plan to pay for the massive power line upgrades needed to boost wind farm construction in the region.
The Southwest Power Pool, a regional cooperative of electrical utilities that includes Kansas, sought approval to spread the entire $1.1 billion cost for the larger lines across all of its 5 million customers in eight states.
Previously, the cost would have been borne primarily by the local utilities and their ratepayers. This includes a double-circuit 345-kilovolt line from Spearville to Wichita for $356 million.
The approval is a critical hurdle in the development of wind power in Kansas, said Westar Energy spokeswoman Karla Olsen.
Kansas is ranked second in the nation for wind power potential, but wind farm developers and utilities say that heavier power lines are needed to transport that electricity to where it will be consumed.
Westar Energy is a partner in Prairie Wind Transmission, one of the companies that plans to build a piece of the new line in western Kansas.
"This allows us to move forward," Olsen said.
The project still has a few regulatory hurdles, but no serious objections are expected.
If approved, land acquisition for the Spearville-to-Wichita project could start in early 2011, construction could start in 2012 and be finished by 2014.