Bonneville Power Administration Approves New Major Transmission Line
Portland-based Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) has approved a new 500 kV transmission project. The line will connect BPA's McNary and John Day substations along the Columbia River in Oregon.
BPA intends to break ground this spring and create up to 700 new jobs during the peak of construction. This project has been made possible in part by additional borrowing authority granted to BPA by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, better known as the stimulus package. When complete in 2012, the line will provide transmission capacity between eastern and western Oregon of up to 870 MW, including more than 700 MW of wind-generated electricity.
Transmission capacity between the sources of renewable power and the load centers is a major long-term issue that needs to be resolved if renewable power is going to reach its potential as a major domestic energy source. BPA has taken an important step by providing new transmission between wind-rich eastern Oregon and customer-rich western Oregon.
Post authored by David Petersen, partner practicing in the Sustainability and Real Estate and Land Use Groups.
