Daily Reporter: More transmission lines coming?

As Wisconsin harnesses more energy from wind, American Transmission Co. LLC admits it still doesn’t know how to spread out that power. “If you’re talking gas, coal or nuclear plants, they’re all sited closer to where the infrastructure needed to carry that power is located,” said ATC spokeswoman Annemarie Newman. “Wind power is found in remote areas … and we have to try to look at ways to get that on the grid.”


According to ATC’s 10-year Transmission System Assessment Report, Wisconsin needs about $2.7 billion in transmission upgrades in the next decade to meet rising electricity demands. That includes adding 210 miles of new transmission lines. If wind power becomes a larger part of the state’s energy mix, ATC and wind developers will need to determine the best ways to carry that power. “In the last year alone, we’ve added 391 megawatts of (wind) power to our transmission system by improving grids,” Newman said. “But there’s clearly a lot more wind in the queue.”

The question then becomes whether local municipalities, some of which are reluctant to allow wind farms, will approve a project that not only brings turbines, but also new power lines. “I think that will be addressed with landowners before it would be with a town,” said David Olsen, a supervisor for the town of Magnolia, which recently passed an ordinance with half-mile setback rules for wind farms. “But if it’s something that adds onto the cost of the project, and that cost is then passed on to the consumer, it could make these projects very expensive,” Olsen said. Curt Bjurlin, Wisconsin project developer for Elgin, Ill.-based EcoEnergy Engineering LLC, said the transmission upgrades will be necessary. “Our transmission systems all over the nation, really, are antiquated,” he said. “If we’re going to continue to enjoy the resources and lifestyle we’ve become accustomed to, we will need to make changes. “And a sustainable landscape will look different from the landscape we have now.” State Sen. Jeff Plale, the South Milwaukee Democrat who authored a failed bill in the last legislative session to give the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin authority to create statewide standards for wind farm development, said he expects heated debates on the topic in the next session.

“Wind power bills will be back and in a strong way,” he said. “It’s the most readily available renewable resource we have, and if we’re talking about relying more on renewable resources, it has to be part of the mix.” Plale said he understands transmission lines will have to be built to carry increased wind power. “I was talking to a Minnesota senator who said there are 360 turbines in the southwest part of that state that are just spinning,” he said. “They’re not connected to anything. That just underscores why we have to give the PSC control to set parameters. We can’t have that debate here between people that want renewable power but don’t want lines. “You can’t have it both ways.”

Newman said figuring out how to move wind power to the state’s energy grids will slow the development of wind farms. “Certainly, we’re working closely with wind farm developers,” she said. “But we have to try to look as far ahead as we can because, in most cases, the permitting and construction process for transmission lines takes longer than it does for wind farms.” © 2008 Daily Reporter Publishing Co., All Rights Reserved.