A pair of 115-kilovolt (kV) transmission line projects are now energized and serving two of Great River Energy’s member cooperatives. Known as the Potato Lake project, Great River Energy built 7¼ miles of new 115-kV transmission line to connect to the system a new distribution substation that was built by Itasca-Mantrap Cooperative Electrical Association. The project was needed to improve reliability and meet increasing demand for energy use in and around the region north of Park Rapids, Minn. The project was completed in December.

Also energized in December was the Pokegama project, which consisted of approximately 8 miles of new 115-kV transmission line. The line was needed to connect to the system a new distribution substation built by Lake Country Power. The project will improve reliability and meet increasing demand for electricity in the area between Grand Rapids, Minn., and Hill City, Minn.

Great River Energy continuously monitors its transmission system, participates in studies and works with other utilities to plan for future needs.

The first of the CapX2020 projects was energized on Dec. 20. The 345-kilovolt transmission line connects a substation in Monticello with another located near St. Cloud.

The CapX2020 Monticello-St. Cloud 345-kilovolt (kV) transmission line was energized on Dec. 20. The 28-mile segment between the new Quarry Substation near St. Cloud and the existing Monticello Substation is the first CapX2020 project to be completed and placed in service.

The project, completed on time and on budget, is an important piece of the regional transmission grid.

“This transmission line will ensure reliable electric service, provide capacity for new power generation outlets, when needed, and provide lasting benefits to the Upper Midwest,” said Will Kaul, Great River Energy vice president of transmission and CapX2020 chairman. “The CapX2020 projects will further expand and enhance the regional grid, allowing utilities to access the most affordable electricity available in the MISO footprint.”

Construction update

• Construction will begin in early 2012 between Alexandria and St. Cloud on the Fargo, N.D.-St. Cloud 345-kV project.
• Construction is scheduled to start in April 2012 on the Brookings County-Hampton 345-kV project.
• Construction is expected to be completed on the Bemidji-Grand Rapids 230-kV project in late 2012.
• Regulatory permits for the Hampton- Rochester-LaCrosse, Wis., 345-kV project are pending with state and federal agencies.

Crews use a crane to attach wires to permanent metal structures near Glenwood, Minn., on Great River Energy’s direct current transmission line.

When a late summer storm caused major damage to a vital Great River Energy transmission line, crews quickly found a way to get the line back in service while a permanent solution was completed. Approximately three months after the damage, repairs to the 400-kilovolt (kV) direct current (DC) line were complete.

On Aug. 1, three towers on the transmission line, which connects Great River Energy’s Coal Creek Station power plant to Minnesota, were destroyed by straight-line winds up to 120 mph near Glenwood, Minn.

Immediately following the storm, transmission line engineers devised an innovative temporary solution to allow the line to be re-energized as quickly as possible. The solution used 18 wooden structures to keep the line in service and provided time to plan and build a permanent solution.

After the foundations were designed and poured and the new towers were constructed, the final steps in the restoration effort were to attach the wires to the new towers and remove the temporary structures. Construction crews lifted the wires using a crane and a helicopter to attach them to the new towers.

“A number of windy days caused some delays when we were lifting the wires, but overall, the effort went smoothly,” said Roger Kiefer, Great River Energy’s manager of transmission construction and maintenance. Kiefer said contract crews had to wait for winds to drop below 24 mph in order to be able to control the wires well enough to attach them.

Careful planning while building the temporary solution saved time at this stage by eliminating the need to splice the wires together. “When we built the temporary solution, we built in a loop to equalize the tension. This allowed us to keep the length of the wires the same from the temporary structures to the permanent ones. All we needed to do was remove the loop to bring it back to the original length and tension.”

Some of the work was done while the line was energized. A line technician hung from a helicopter to move the line using the “barehanding” method which allowed the technician to handle the energized wire while wearing a special metal fiber suit.

The Midwest ISO (MISO) board approved the Multi Value Project (MVP) classification for 16 transmission line projects in the region, and included the projects in the Midwest Transmission Expansion Plan 2011 report. The classification will assign costs for the transmission lines throughout the entire MISO footprint, a methodology that was proposed in 2010 and approved by FERC this year. The MVP classification will help ensure new transmission can be built in the region if the projects meet certain criteria, such as being required to meet a public policy mandate.

The decision enables the CapX2020 utilities to move forward with construction plans for the Brookings County-Hampton project, which will provide outlet for wind resources in southern and southwestern Minnesota, and the eastern Dakotas. The project has received all state regulatory approvals, and CapX2020 staff are working with landowners to secure easements, as well as doing the detailed design, engineering and preconstruction work.

Brookings County-Hampton is one of 17 projects analyzed by MISO and key stakeholders over the course of 2011. The analysis demonstrated that all MISO utilities and their customers will benefit from access to new generation resources, reduced system congestion and reduced need for operating reserves. The transmission lines will provide between $1.90 and $3.10 in benefits for each dollar spent on line construction.

“MISO’s analysis clearly demonstrates that MISO member utilities and their customers will benefit from the projects,” said Terry Grove, co-executive director of CapX2020 and director of regional transmission projects for Great River Energy. The five CapX2020 utilities developing the Brookings County-Hampton project plan to begin construction in April 2012, a necessary step to increasing electric reliability and enabling new renewable energy connections in the region, Grove said.

Other MVP portfolio projects in the Upper Midwest include 345-kV lines in North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

Contractors have begun removing trees along a 10½-mile segment of Great River Energy’s 230-kilovolt “PE” line in the Elk River, Ramsey and Andover areas of Minnesota. The trees are too close to the power line and need to be removed for the safety and reliability of the system, and to maintain compliance with ever-stricter standards from the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC).

Working with property owners to remove trees along power lines is often challenging and the history of this transmission line, along with tougher NERC standards, makes this project more challenging than usual.  According to Byron Johnson, Great River Energy’s supervisor of vegetation management, when this transmission line was purchased from another utility in 2003, it had not been maintained to our standards. Since then we have been slowly working with landowners to widen the clear area around the power line. 

Great River Energy has easements with landowners along the transmission line, which provide us the rights to remove trees and manage vegetation within the right of way, or the strip of land defined in the easement. We have previously allowed some trees and shrubs to remain in the outer 35 feet of the right of way, but now we must remove most trees in the full width of the right of way.

“We have tried to find a balance between maintaining the line and not causing a lot of hardship to property owners,” said Johnson. “But now that NERC standards have become stricter, we are at risk for significant fines. We have to finish clearing the rest of the right of way.”

Approximately 160 landowners along the line received letters and a Q&A on the project. According to Rick Heuring, senior field representative in our land rights department, the project is going fairly smoothly to date considering that there are many landowners who will be losing a number of trees. Work on this segment of the transmission line will continue through the end of the year. In 2012, work will begin on the remaining 3.8 miles.

With the kickoff of construction on the Bemidji-Grand Rapids project and the wire stringing on St. Cloud-Monticello, CapX2020 continues to move forward.

CapX2020 is a joint initiative of 11 transmission-owning utilities in Minnesota and the surrounding region to expand the electric transmission grid to ensure continued reliable and affordable service. Planning studies show that customer demand for electricity will increase 4,000 to 6,000 megawatts by 2020.

A worker hangs from the end the line connected to the helicopter. Workers are installing hardware via helicopter to preserve the wetlands below the towers.

The new transmission lines will be built in phases designed to meet this increasing demand as well as to support renewable energy expansion.

Here are updates on all CapX2020 projects:

St. Cloud-Monticello:
Workers along Interstate Highway 94 west of Monticello, Minn. are generating lots of attention as conductor is being strung by the Air 2 helicopter firm. CapX2020 officials worked closely with the Minnesota Department of Transportation, local media and local government officials to inform residents and drivers about the work, and to encourage them to pay attention to traffic around them, not the construction activity. Helicopter work will continue through October. Work at the new Quarry substation is progressing well. The project is expected to be energized in late 2011.

St. Cloud-Fargo:
The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission approved the Route Permit for the Fargo-St. Cloud project. Construction will begin in 2012. Right of way agents are beginning to contact landowners along the project route.

Bemidji-Grand Rapids:
Right of way has been cleared and structures are being set. Construction will continue through 2012; the line will be energized in late 2012 or early 2013.

Hampton-Rochester-LaCrosse:
Public and evidentiary hearings were held in the project’s Route Permit proceeding in June. The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission is expected to make a final decision on the Route Permit in late 2011. Hearings for the Wisconsin’s Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity are expected in early 2012.

Brookings County-Hampton:
Detailed design, engineering and procurement activities continue on the project. Easement purchases have begun as landowners are being contacted along the project route. Construction is expected to begin in the second quarter of 2012 with the line energized in 2015. MISO granted the project conditional approval for Multi-Value Project status in June. The classification, expected to be made final in December, will allocate the cost of the project across the entire MISO footprint, which extends into 12 U.S. states and Manitoba. Several other projects in the upper Midwest are also being considered for the new classification.

CapX2020 and the Minnesota Department of Transportation remind drivers on Interstate 94 near St. Cloud to pay attention to the road while helicopters are being used in transmission line construction.

A worker hangs from the end the line connected to the helicopter. Workers are installing hardware via helicopter to preserve the wetlands below the towers.

Continuing through the fall, helicopters will be used to string conductor on the 345 kV transmission line route between Monticello and St. Cloud. At times, implosive devices will be used to splice wire together, creating a noise about as loud as a shotgun blast.

CapX2020 and MNDOT have placed fliers at gas stations, posted signs along the interstate, and have worked with local officials to remind drivers to pay attention to the road and drive safely.

View a news story about the helicopter installation here: http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=934629

And learn more about CapX2020 at capx2020.com

Recently, Great River Energy transmission construction & maintenance staff finished a project that involved removal of 13 osprey nests from Great River Energy’s 230-kilovolt transmission line that runs east of Brainerd, Minn., in the Crow Wing Power member service area.

Adam Hinnenkamp (shown right) and Brent Benjamin build platforms for the osprey nests.

Ospreys are large raptors, which can reach two feet in length and have a wing span of six feet or more. When they build their nests (which can be three feet in diameter or larger) on the cross arms of wood transmission line structures, the nests become a hazard to safety and reliability. Fecal matter and moisture builds up and accelerates decay. The decay will eventually cause the arm to drop the wire, possibly causing outages, fires or electrocution if someone is standing nearby. The time was right to get the work done because ospreys migrate to the tropics for the winter and frozen ground makes accessing the nests easier.

Although not all of the nests could be saved, Great River Energy worked with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources on a plan to save and move five of the nests. Crews built special platforms and attached them to structures on the same transmission line, then they carefully moved the nests.

One reason not all of the nests can be saved is that relocations can be costly. “We need to be sensitive to both the future of the osprey and the costs associated with projects like this,” said Roger Kiefer, manager, transmission construction & maintenance.

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MN PUC) has approved the Minnesota River crossing at Belle Plaine for the CapX2020 Brookings County-Hampton 345 kilovolt (kV) transmission line. This approval finalizes the last segment of the project route between the Cedar Mountain substation (Renville County) and Helena substation (Scott County).

The decision comes after a rigorous public review that lasted more than two years and included nearly 30 public meetings and hearings where landowners, local governments and other interested stakeholders expressed comments and provided input about the project’s route.

Crews work to erect the first transmission structure for the CapX2020 Monticello-St. Cloud transmission line in early January. Similar structures will be used for the Brookings County-Hampton 345 kV transmission line.

The MN PUC approved the majority of the route in July 2010, but sent the Minnesota River crossing back to Administrative Law Judge Richard Luis for review additional information regarding impacts to birds at the crossing.

“The CapX2020 utilities appreciate the work of the Commission, its staff, many other state employees and landowners throughout the area who were involved in this vital proceeding,” said Dan Lesher, Great River Energy, project routing lead. “This important project can now move forward with the certainty of a final route.”

“This transmission line will help to provide continued reliable service, support the regional transmission system, and allow access to new generation, including renewable wind generation in western Minnesota and South Dakota,” said Will Kaul, vice president of transmission at Great River Energy and chairman of CapX2020. “The Commission’s decision supports CapX2020’s ability to continue to develop and construct needed transmission in the Upper Midwest.”

The MN PUC-approved route follows the original preferred route from the Cedar Mountain substation and connects with the alternate route in Sibley County at what is known as the “Gibbon alternative,” an approximately five-mile route west of Gibbon. It then follows the alternate route to cross the Minnesota River near an existing 69 kV transmission line by Belle Plaine. After crossing the river, the route follows roads, fields and section lines to connect with the permitted Helena substation site near 270th Street and Aberdeen Avenue west of New Prague.

Field construction on the Brookings County-Hampton project is scheduled to begin in 2012 and be completed in 2015. Along with the approximately 250-mile transmission line, four new substations will be built, and four existing substations will be expanded.

Learn more, visit: www.capx2020.com

Crews work to erect the first transmission structure for the CapX2020 Monticello-St. Cloud transmission line on Jan. 4, 2011. The structure is near Xcel Energy’s Monticello Nuclear Plant, approximately 500 feet off Interstate Highway 94. Xcel Energy construction crews are building the 28-mile, 345-kilovolt (kV) transmission line and are erecting approximately one structure each day. They now have completed approximately 35 structure foundations. This is the first of the CapX2020 projects to be constructed. Great River Energy’s Transmission Division Vice President Will Kaul is the chairman of CapX2020.

About CapX2020

CapX2020 is a joint initiative of 11 transmission-owning utilities in Minnesota and the surrounding region to upgrade and expand the electric transmission grid to ensure continued reliable and affordable service. The CapX2020 Group 1 projects include four proposed 345 kV transmission lines and a proposed 230 kV line. It is the largest development of new transmission in the upper Midwest in 30 years. The projects are projected to cost nearly $2 billion and cover a distance of more than 700 miles. The new infrastructure will provide a foundation for the region’s projected electric growth as well as connect into renewable energy sources in southern and western Minnesota and the Dakotas.

Along with Great River Energy , Maple Grove, Minn., and Xcel Energy, Minneapolis, utilities that expect to participate in one or more of the CapX2020 projects are: Central Minnesota Municipal Power Agency, Blue Earth, Minn.; Dairyland Power Cooperative, La Crosse, Wis.; Minnesota Power, Duluth, Minn.; Minnkota Power Cooperative, Grand Forks, N.D.; Missouri River Energy Services, Sioux Falls, S.D.; Otter Tail Power Company, Fergus Falls, Minn.; Rochester Public Utilities, Rochester, Minn.; Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency, Rochester, Minn.; and WPPI Energy, Sun Prairie, Wis.