FERC Approves Rock Island Clean Line Transmission Project

A major milestone has been achieved in the development of the transmission line project to move wind energy from Iowa to Illinois and points east, an action that will allow the project's developer, Clean Line Energy Partners to begin negotiations with transmission line customers.

From a Press Release from Clean Line:

HOUSTON (May 23, 2012) – Rock Island Clean Line LLC (Clean Line) has obtained a key regulatory approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to begin negotiating transmission service agreements with potential customers of the Rock Island Clean Line transmission project, likely load serving entities or wind developers.

The Rock Island Clean Line is a 500-mile overhead high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line that will run from northwest Iowa to an area near Morris, Illinois. The project will deliver 3,500 megawatts of the best wind energy resources in Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota and Minnesota to communities in Illinois and other states to the east, areas that have a strong demand for clean, reliable energy.

The FERC order was issued in response to the application filed by Clean Line in November 2011. Receiving this authority permits Clean Line to subscribe up to 75% of the line’s capacity with anchor tenant customers and sell the remaining capacity through an open season process. The anchor tenants will receive guaranteed capacity outside of the open season process; however, the same terms and pricing will be offered in the open season.

“The Rock Island Clean Line project will create good-paying labor jobs for Illinois families, help reduce rates for Illinois electricity consumers by providing more choices and provide clean home-grown renewable energy to support our environment,” said Illinois Governor Pat Quinn. “The approval from FERC is a positive step forward for this project.”

In its application, Clean Line addressed the following standards: the justness and reasonableness of rates; the potential for undue discrimination; the potential for undue preference, including affiliate preference; and regional reliability and operational efficiency requirements. Clean Line also described why granting its request will be in the public interest.

Iowa Governor Terry Branstad said in response to the favorable FERC ruling, “The Rock Island Clean Line project has the potential to bring billions of dollars of new investment to Iowa and createthousands of jobs. I’m therefore pleased to see this approval by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.”

Clean Line has conducted over 600 one-on-one meetings with stakeholders, has hosted 33 open house meetings to which over 40,000 landowners were invited to submit feedback on routing options, and has held additional open houses in Illinois to introduce local businesses and labor groups to the Rock Island Clean Line project. Substantial progress on engineering and design of the project has been made since its inception in early 2010. In June of 2011, Clean Line signed an agreement with Siemens to provide HVDC technology solutions for the Rock Island Clean Line. Under that agreement, Siemens and Clean Line are working together to develop, design, and implement the HVDC converter stations for this important infrastructure project. In the summer of 2011, Clean Line acquired 2007-vintage interconnection queue positions that are advancing through the regional merchant transmission study process. These queue positions will greatly accelerate the interconnection process for the Rock Island Clean Line.

“This approval marks an important step forward in the steady progress of our Rock Island Clean Line project, which will bring considerable benefits to the existing grid by delivering low-cost clean wind power from northwest Iowa and the surrounding region to Illinois and states to the east," said Michael Skelly, President of Clean Line Energy. "We thank the FERC commissioners and staff for their diligence and consideration given to our application. We look forward to continuing to create opportunities for new jobs, low-cost clean energy and significant investment in Iowa and Illinois.”

Developing a project of this scale is a long-term undertaking; the approximately $1.7 billion project is expected to achieve commercial operation in 2016 or 2017. For more information about the Rock Island Clean Line, please visit www.rockislandcleanline.com.

Crain's Profiles Rock Island Clean Line Transmission Project

Crain's Chicago Business ran an excellent piece today on Clean Line Energy Partners' Rock Island transmission project, including a look at the company's Hans Detwiler, a long-time player in Illinois political and energy circles who is now managing the project's development. From the Crain's article:

For most of his 20-year career, Hans Detweiler lobbied state and federal officials to boost wind farms in the Midwest, but a couple of years ago he concluded he could make a bigger impact as a businessman than as a policy advocate.

The former lobbyist for both the Chicago-based Environmental Law and Policy Center and the American Wind Energy Association in Washington is championing a multiyear effort to build a $1.7 billion, 500-mile high-voltage power line to connect northwest Iowa, one of the windiest spots in the U.S., to Chicago, the Midwest's biggest energy consumer.

If he's successful—and the hurdle is mighty high—the 42-year-old with a political science degree from Grinnell College in Iowa will accomplish two tasks: He will make the composition of Chicago's electricity cleaner while lowering local electric bills.

The promise for Iowa farmers and Chicago-area consumers alike is up to 4,000 megawatts of wind energy funneled into and through the Chicago area. That's double the amount from farms developed in Illinois over the past decade, most coming after the 2007 enactment of a state law pushed by Mr. Detweiler and others requiring utilities to purchase an escalating percentage of renewable energy.

“We're very comfortable the project will occur,” Mr. Detweiler says. “We think the stars align in 2017.”

But the proposed Rock Island Clean Line won't go anywhere unless he can secure enough customers upfront. Unlike most transmission lines, which are built only after regulators agree to force ratepayers to finance them through higher electric bills, Clean Line is a “merchant” project, which means it would be privately financed.

In the Midwest and mid-Atlantic power grid traversing all or parts of 13 states, including northern Illinois, just two transmission lines have been built using this financing method, both of them in northern New Jersey, according to a power grid spokesman.

Also, today's rock-bottom wholesale power prices, in the low $30s per megawatt-hour, are too low to make the project economic. Mr. Detweiler expects that in five years, when he hopes the line will be built, prices will be modestly higher. He says, given how strong the wind blows in northwest Iowa, $45 per megawatt-hour would be sufficient.

ON THE ROAD

For now, Mr. Detweiler, the project's director of development, is earning upgrades from his frequent car rentals to drive from his home in Chicago to Iowa and parts of Illinois. Since he began promoting the project in January 2010, he figures he has presided over or attended more than 600 meetings. “We've served several thousand pulled-pork sandwiches,” he jokes.

The line, one of four transmission lines around the country being pursued by Houston-based Clean Line Energy Partners, needs approval from Iowa and Illinois regulators, who must endorse its path, and federal regulators, who must give permission to the developer to negotiate rates with end-use customers. A federal decision is expected soon, but the state rulings will take as long as two years.

The high-voltage power cord would originate in O'Brien County, Iowa, about 200 miles northwest of Des Moines. Locals want it, says Rodd Holtkamp, vice president of Savings Bank in [...] Iowa, which lends to the farmers in the area. "We're sitting in some of the best wind resources in the entire U.S.," he says. "We can build these turbines, but we can't get on the grid and get the juice out of here."

Clean Line would harm the financial interests of Illinois' biggest power generator, Chicago-based Exelon Corp., whose profit margins would suffer at its six nuclear plants in the state from lower prices here. Exelon is proposing a transmission line of its own, the $1.6 billion, 420-mile Rite Line, which would connect Chicago's power grid to the East, where power prices are higher. But, unlike Clean Line, Exelon is seeking federal approval to finance the project through electric bills.

In a statement, Exelon doesn't say it supports or opposes Clean Line but makes clear its misgivings: “Illinois already benefits from an oversupply of inexpensive power. . . . We believe any additional power coming into Illinois from planned wind projects in the upper Midwest can and should be moved eastward for reliability reasons, which will not unduly impact Illinois power prices.”

In the meantime, Mr. Detweiler is winning support from other quarters. On May 8, Grundy County struck a deal with Clean Line under which the developer will pay about $2.8 million over 20 years in lieu of property taxes, the same arrangement Iowa requires of transmission developers but Illinois does not. Grundy County would be the line's eastern terminus, about 65 miles southwest of the Loop.

Clean Line HVDC Substation Could be Built in Channahon

The easternmost substation for the Clean Line's proposed 500-mile high-voltage DC Rock Island transmission line may be built in Channahon, Illinois, says an article in the Herald-News:

Wind energy harvested from some blustery western states will be routed through Morris and Channahon substations and converter stations if Houston-based Clean Line Energy Partners’ plans go through.

A representative of the firm explained the concept to the Channahon Village Board this week.

The “Rock Island Clean Line” would begin in several wind farms in South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska and Iowa, which are four of the windiest states in the country, and be carried first to a newly constructed converter station in western Channahon. The firm is eyeing an 85-acre site off Bungalow Road.

The electricity would then run to Collins Station in Morris, which would act as a substation. Construction in Channahon could employ a large number of workers, the trustees were told, and could begin as soon as 2014. The system could be up and running by late 2016.

Trustees were asked to issue a letter of recommendation for the project, but no decision was given on the letter at this week’s meeting.

The entire project would be privately financed, the board was told, using direct current, which is more efficient than transporting alternating current. DC also leaves a much smaller environmental footprint than AC, the representative said, and has better reliability. The farms would produce as much as 3,500 megawatts of energy.

Trustees were optimistic about the number of labor jobs the construction would generate, albeit The M&E tax taxes heavy industrial machinery and equipment as real property. The state’s other 101 counties classify machinery and equipment as personal property, which is not taxed in Illinois.

Also this week, Channahon’s Finance Director Bob Guess told the board that Pace Dial-a-Ride will begin doubling its hours of service to try to meet the needs of more Channahon residents. Too many people are being turned down lately, Guess said, because of the limited hours.

The hours will be increased for the months of May and June in order to see if the change meets the needs of more riders.

Grundy County Officials Welcome Rock Island Clean Line Substation

Grundy County economic development officials are welcoming Clean Line's proposal to build a major substation in for the Rock Island transmission line, which will send wind-generated power from resource-rich Great Plains into demand-heavy Illinois and East Coast power market. 

From an article in the Herald-News:

The project — a $250 million electrical converter station — is part of a proposed $1.7 billion wind energy transmission line that would start in Iowa and terminate in Grundy County.

Grundy County was selected for the renewable energy project because it has one of only four 765,000-volt power lines in the country, said Missy Durkin, business development director for the Grundy Economic Development Council.

The Rock Island Clean Line project would bring electricity from wind farm turbines in the Dakotas, Nebraska and Iowa to a converter station to be built in Channahon.

Wind power will be alternating current, or AC, when it comes off the turbines. It will be converted to direct current, or DC, at a converter station in Iowa for the trip to Channahon.

DC is a better way for electricity to travel long distances because less of the power is lost on the trip, said Carry Kottler, project director for Clean Line Energy, the company that is building the power system.

Once in Channahon, the current will be converted back to AC, which is a better way to ship power short distances to homes and businesses. The electricity would then travel to a new substation to be built on the now-dormant Midwest Generation Collins Street site where coal was once burned to provide electricity.

And that’s where Grundy County’s high voltage line comes in. The line will send the power out on a multistate power grid to eastern states that need it to meet new energy goals.

“It’s part of a growing demand for these states to meet renewable energy standards,” Durkin said.

For instance, Illinois has to have 25 percent of its energy provided by renewable sources by 2025, she said.

A “cable cutting” ceremony was held recently to announce the project. Gov. Pat Quinn and Clean Line Energy President Michael Skelly were on hand.

Nancy Ammer, CEO of the Grundy council, and Durkin were recognized for their efforts in assisting with the project, which would create 1,450 construction jobs in Illinois.

“For the state of Illinois, there is a lot of economic growth opportunity,” Durkin said.

Clean Line & Gov Quinn Announce Wire Vendor for Rock Island Transmission Project

We're a few days late on this one, but Governor Pat Quinn joined officials from Clean Line Energy Partners this week to announce the company's selection of a wire vendor for its Rock Island transmission line project. Why did Quinn care? Because the company selected to supply the project, Southwire, will create 1400-plus jobs at their manufacturing facility in downstate Flora, Illinois.

From an article in the Chicago Sun-Times:

The agreement involves Georgia-based Southwire Company, which has a plant in Downstate Flora, about 440 miles south of Chicago, and Houston-based Clean Line Energy Partners. It was announced Tuesday during a wind energy conference in Chicago.

Southwire’s Illinois plant will manufacture 500 miles of overhead transmission cable to deliver 3,500 megawatts of power from Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and South Dakota to Illinois and beyond.

Construction could begin as early as 2014 for the three-year labor agreement.

The announcement led to significant press for Clean Line and the Governor, including this syndicated piece from Gate House News Service:

The agreement supports Governor Quinn’s commitment to growing the renewable energy sector in Illinois and continues Illinois’ leadership in the green economy. The governor announced the agreement after delivering the keynote address at the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) Regional Wind Energy Summit held today in Chicago.
 
“Illinois is a leader in the renewable energy sector, and agreements like these are helping make Illinois even more competitive,” Governor Quinn said. “These cutting-edge projects will help maintain Illinois’ national leadership in wind energy and manufacturing, and create good paying, home-grown jobs.”
 
Under the agreement, Southwire will supply the overhead transmission cable for the Rock Island Clean Line project. This project will consist of approximately 500-mile overhead, high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line that will deliver 3,500 megawatts (MW) of renewable power from Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and South Dakota to communities and businesses in Illinois and other states to the east. Construction of the Rock Island Clean Line could begin as early as 2014 and continue over the next few years.
 
“We are very pleased that Clean Line has chosen to work with Southwire as they prepare for the construction of the Rock Island Clean Line HVDC line.  Such projects help to address the infrastructure needs that are critical to delivering renewable power to the population centers in the Midwest,” stated Charlie Murrah, President of Southwire’s Energy Division. “Transmission cable demand of this magnitude enables Southwire to continue its 60+ year leadership position in energy cable manufacturing and to contribute to the vitality of communities in which we operate such as Flora, Illinois.”
 
The Rock Island Clean Line will enable approximately $7 billion worth of investments in new wind energy projects to move forward, which today cannot be constructed due to the lack of transmission. The project will also allow Illinois greater access to low-cost clean wind energy and will deliver enough energy to power more than 1.4 million Midwest homes.
 
Clean Line President Michael Skelly said, “Clean Line Energy is committed to sourcing as many of the needed materials as possible from local companies in the Rock Island Clean Line project area. We are excited to work with Southwire on a project that will power Illinois homes and businesses with clean energy. We believe it is increasingly important to invest in energy infrastructure in order to contribute to local economies, create new jobs in America and improve energy security. We look forward to continuing to work with Illinois authorities, state leaders and communities as our project moves forward.”

Support for the project is bi-partisan, including one member of the Illinois House who may even lease land to the project:

One landowner already sold on the project is state Rep. Rich Morthland, R-Cordova, who said the project will send transmission lines through his rural Rock Island County farm.

"There will be construction jobs. There won't be a lot of long-term jobs that come from it," Rep. Morthland said. "A lot of the folks in my neighborhood are very concerned and would rather not have this project going through their backyards.

"My neighbors are not very excited about it," he added. "But I think it is good for jobs and good for opportunity. And there will be payment made to property owners, and that will be helpful." 

The Flora plant has more than 100 employees. The deal announced Tuesday creates union construction jobs.

"I am excited this green energy project is coming to the area," state Sen. Mike Jacobs, D-East Moline, said in a written statement. "I have worked as the chairman of the Senate Energy Committee to make sure the state of Illinois increases our use of green energies as our overall energy consumption has continued to rise."

State Rep. Pat Verschoore, D-Milan, also touted the project.

"The Quad-Cities were first settled and attracted residents by being a major transportation route to the pioneering west and by becoming a hub of culture and trade," Rep. Verschoore said in a written statement. "This project puts Rock Island back in the national spotlight as the central transfer point of national wind energy, supplying millions of homes with renewable, American-made energy."

Wind Industry Cheers Midwest ISO Approval of Multi-Value Projects

Landmark move by Midwest power grid operator paves way for construction of 17 new high-voltage lines that will bring upper midwest windpower to markets in Illinois and points east.

From a press release from Wind on the Wires:

ST. PAUL, MINN., (Dec. 8, 2011) – Wind on the Wires congratulates the Midwest Independent System Operator (“MISO”) Board of Directors for approving the Multi-Value Project (“MVP”) portfolio, which includes 17 transmission lines, as part of the MISO Transmission Expansion Plan 2011 (MTEP).

The MVP portfolio contains the Michigan Thumb Project, which was previously approved by the MISO Board; and the Brookings, SD-Twin Cities (Minnesota) Project, which was conditionally approved by the MISO Board in June 2011.

“Wind on the Wires commends the MISO Board of Directors for approving the 17 Candidate Multi-Value Project portfolio,” said WOW Executive Director Beth Soholt.  “We couldn’t be more pleased by this action, which is a testament to MISO’s commitment to constructing new transmission lines in the Midwest to, among other things, enable additional renewable energy to enter the market.  The decision also allows many consumers to benefit from the low cost and clean energy that comes from wind development and a robust transmission grid that can deliver electricity back and forth across the region depending on where the power is needed.”

Transmission is a key component to developing our clean energy future and, until now, has been a significant road block in the quest to bring large amounts of renewable energy onto the grid. 

“The Midwest has not seen this significant of a transmission expansion for decades. WOW has been working with MISO since 2003 on transmission expansion to accommodate new wind power,” added Soholt.  MISO’s decision to move forward with building new transmission lines will also help state and local economies as billions of dollars of investment contribute to economic growth, and thousands of jobs are created as these projects come to fruition.

“The upper Midwest has some of the highest wind power potential in the entire world, but it cannot be utilized without significantly expanding the transmission system,” said Joe DeVito, WOW chairman of the board and vice president of development for RES Americas. “Wind power is now one of the cheapest forms of new electric generation and MISO has demonstrated tremendous leadership by proposing a visionary expansion plan that will tap into the power of wind.” 

“We applaud MISO for expanding their transmission planning process to include the reliability, economic and public policy benefits of large, regional transmission projects,” said Melissa Seymour, the director of regional policy and regulation for Iberdrola Renewables. “The MVP portfolio of transmission projects will not only enable the delivery of renewable energy to meet state Renewable Portfolio Standards, but will facilitate the ability of low cost wind resources to serve a more expansive area of the MISO footprint.”

Soholt also thanks the Governors who have provided leadership and supported the modernization of the region’s transmission grid.  “Their efforts have been instrumental in the positive results we are celebrating today,” Soholt said.

Wind on the Wires is ramping up its efforts to fully participate in the various state regulatory proceedings for the individual MVP lines. Wind on the Wires looks forward to working with the transmission line sponsors, MISO staff, key decision-makers, groups and organizations and other stakeholders during the state implementation phase of approving and constructing transmission in the Midwest.
 
# # #
 
Wind on the Wires is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in St. Paul, Minn., which is comprised of wind developers, environmental organizations, tribal representatives, public interest groups, clean energy advocates, farm groups and businesses providing goods and services to the wind industry. Our mission is to overcome the barriers to bringing wind energy to market by addressing technical and regulatory issues, as well as through education and public outreach.

Editor's note: IWEA is in the process of merging with Wind on the Wires.

Clean Line Holds Public Meeting in Grundy County

From the Morris Daily Herald:

Clean Line Energy Partners has decided to install its transmission line in Grundy County to deliver wind energy from areas of the Midwest to the east — and it is now getting feedback from nearby residents.

The company is looking to bring its Rock Island Clean Line to deliver 3,500 megawatts of renewable energy to communities that do not have easy access to wind energy. This transmission line is one of four projects Clean Line is proposing across the country.

An open house was held Thursday at Jennifer's Garden to show the public the tentative outline options of the transmission lines going through Grundy County. Clean Line sent personal invites to residents directly in the paths and those about a quarter-mile around it. There are about 300 parcels of land within the corridors.

"The concept is to get across the Mississippi and over to Iowa. Our criteria is a straight line, which impacts the least number of landowners, and to stay a greatest distance from homes," said Hans Detweiler, director of development.

The transmission lines will result in billions of dollars invested in wind farms, putting thousands to work building turbine materials and constructing the turbines. In addition, there will be local jobs with the construction of a $250 million converter station proposed for property in Channahon. About 5,000 construction jobs are expected as a result of the entire project and more than 500 operation jobs.

If constructed, more than 1.4 million homes in the Midwest would be powered by the Rock Island line. Grundy County will be the end of this line, where the energy is converted into usable voltage and run through the old Collins substation to move the power east.

Why Grundy County?

This summer, Clean Line debated between taking their route through Kendall or Grundy counties. It chose Grundy because it wanted the use of the old Collins Station, Detweiler said.

The proposed routes go from La Salle County to Grundy, ending at Collins Station. The challenge was how to get there with the issues with Morris, such as its airport and the air regulations, he said. They also had to be mindful of the Lisbon Limestone Quarry, which is north of the airport.

The proposed route corridors follow the existing high voltage line. Generally, the route is west of Brisbin Road, east of Gun Club Road and runs toward County Line Road, north of it, and west to La Salle.

The Rock Island Clean Line plans to transport this clean power 500 miles through a high-voltage direct current transmission (HVDC) line. A direct current line allows for a lot more power to be moved than through an alternating current (AC) line. Moving direct current can be more costly, but it is more efficient.

Once the direct current hits Grundy, it will need to be converted to an alternate current for usable voltage. This will be done through a $250 million converter station that is proposed to be constructed in Channahon's village limits on property owned by Five Star. The property is on the south side of the I&M Canal and on the north side of Bungalow Road, Detweiler said.

Barb and Robert Kember farm about 600 acres within the proposed area.

"The thought of a line going right through your farm in not too desirable," Robert Kember said. "It'll affect the value of the land, I'm sure,"

But the couple is supportive of wind energy and, after hearing the details, they feel better about the concept. Clean Line shared their compensation plan to pay those landowners for towers on their land, and the use of easements on their land.

Kember's wife, Barb, was mostly worried about the potential impacts on their health being located near the electric and magnetic fields. It was explained to her by Clean Line's health expert, Amy Williams, that direct current lines' voltage does not vary like alternating lines.

If a person was to stand right in the magnetic field, it would be similar to when a person sits in front of the old bulky computer monitors, Williams said. The strength of the direct current magnetic fields are equivalent to that of the Earth's natural fields, according to the Clean Line fact sheet.

"As you move away, the lines those fields drop considerably," Williams said.

Compensation for land owners

Landowners with transmission structures on their property will be compensated, Detweiler said.

The structures will require 145- to 200-foot easements. Landowners will receive at least 90 percent of their fair market value for the easement portion of the property. Those who have structures on their property can be paid annually or in a one-time lump sum.

There are two kinds of poles that could be used: monopoles, which are 120 to 160 feet, or lattice towers, which are 120 to 200 feet.

An example based on a half-mile of right-of-way would be a land value of $8,000 per acre and 175-foot wide easement, the landowner would receive $88,320 for an easement with two monopoles or $112,320 for an easement with two lattice towers.

Additional payments can also be made if there is damage to crops, soil compaction or irrigation interference.

Construction timeline

If all goes as planned, Clean Line will apply with the state next year. Approval is expected by 2013. If so, the company will then work on financing the construction and land acquisitions before constructing.

It will be about two and a half years before the project's construction begins. When it does, it will take about three years, Detweiler said.

For more information, visit rockislandcleanline.com.