Shannon Fiecke of the Shakopee Valley News reports:

A coalition of Minnesota utilities has selected a route passing through southern Scott County where they hope to build a high-voltage power line to meet the demands of a growing metropolitan area.

From an original 12-mile search area that centered on the county’s border, the CapX2020 project — which represents most of the state’s power agencies — has narrowed down to two possible routes for the 345-kilovolt line.

While both routes would pass through Scott County at some point, the bulk of the preferred option passes from the present Lake Marion substation through the townships of New Market, Cedar Lake and Helena, then entering Belle Plaine Township and heading south through Le Sueur County before crossing the Minnesota River.
The alternative option would cut across northern Rice and Le Sueur counties before heading north through Belle Plaine Township to cross the river valley.

CapX2020 filed a permit application detailing these routes late last month with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, triggering a lengthy public review process that will likely be overseen by an administrative law judge and could last more than a year.

An earlier application to prove the need for the transmission line is being reviewed separately.

The local routes are part of a 200-mile line proposed to stretch from Hampton, Minn., near Highway 52, to Brookings, S.D, and be accompanied by a 30-mile line from Marshall to Granite Falls.
The project is one of four proposed by Great River Energy, a consortium of utility groups and other power companies, to meet the state’s growing energy demands.

A final decision on the route is expected in early 2010. If approved by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, the local line is expected to be constructed between 2011 and 2012.
In a presentation to the Scott County Board last month, CapX2020 representatives said there had been much public input to determine where to put the line.

The public’s top concern was to minimize the impact on existing homes and agricultural operations, said routing team leader Craig Poorker.

Poorker said the proposed routes mainly follow existing roadways, transmission lines and field or section lines, and use single-pole structures.

Several open houses were held, as well as work group sessions for those who wanted to be more involved.

CapX2020 spokesman Randy Fordice said 23,000 letters went out to property owners within the search area about a handful of times.

RIGHT PATH

Poorker said CapX2020 started out with several hundred route options — and a “huge challenge” locally was determining how to cross the Minnesota River.

State and federal criteria required utility providers look for existing river crossings, he said.

The line is proposed to cross either at sewer ponds that are soon to be abandoned near Le Sueur, or to follow an existing 16-kilovolt transmission line near Belle Plaine, Poorker said.

The route options are 1,000 feet wide, except for areas requiring greater flexibility, like heading into substations or crossing river valleys. The eventual easements required will be about 150 feet wide.

The single-pole transmission structures, approximately 150 feet high, are more expensive to use, but much easier to farm around than old lattice structures, like the ones now found along Highway 169.

There are areas of the state where transmission lines meander through fields, making agriculture operations more difficult, so it was important to farmers that lines be located along roads and field or section lines.

Examples of the 345-kilovolt transmission structures planned for CapX2020 can be seen alongside Interstate Highway 90 as one is driving to Sioux Falls, Fordice said.

“They’re farming right up to the pole itself,” he said.

The Scott County planning department has provided information to CapX2020 about the long-range plans here for roads, parks and trails.

Planning Manager Brad Davis is still reviewing the utility’s route-permit application to see what the impact will be on area residents. The county has yet to decide whether it will file a formal comment on the route plans.

ELECTRICITY NEEDS

The last major upgrade of electrical infrastructure in the state occurred about 30 years ago, Fordice said, and power consumption has grown much since then, with the abundance of TVs, air conditioning and computers.

"We’re just getting to the point where we need to build new transmission lines,” he said.

Besides meeting electricity needs, there is also a desire to connect into renewable energy sources, particularly the wind-rich areas in the southern and western areas of the state, Fordice said.
With the state’s new renewable energy mandates, a lot of wind generation is being proposed in outstate Minnesota.

Minnesota prohibits the building of coal-fired and nuclear power plants, but allows natural gas and wind generation.

SUBSTATION

Helena and Belle Plaine townships, which are south of Jordan in Scott County, are part of the search area for a future substation. (Substations connect higher voltage lines with smaller ones).

However, the preferred area for a substation would be around the Derrynane Township area in Le Sueur County.

Although only about 3 acres would actually be needed for the substation, the utilities plan to look for a roughly 40-acre site to allow for a buffer. The substation would be fenced off and the leftover land would likely be leased for farming, Poorker said.
CapX2020 has generated some opposition throughout the state, with some feeling it’s not needed, or will only encourage more energy consumption, and because it could be used to transmit coal-generated power from the Dakotas.

Helena Township Chairman Terry Maas said he hasn’t personally gotten feedback from residents, but that might change now that the filing is done.

Shannon Fiecke is a staff writer for the Shakopee Valley News. She can be reached at 952-345-6679 or sfiecke@swpub.com.