BPA Drops Routes From SW Wash Power Line Plan
At least some SW Washington property owners can breathe a sigh of relief.
Bonneville Power says it’s eliminated one of the major routes it was looking at for a proposed 500 kilovolt power line in Clark and Cowlitz counties. The route includes segments 27, 31, 42 and 44.
In a press release, BPA says it was looking at these segments because they follow an existing right-of-way owned by Pacific Power. But the right-of-way wasn’t big enough for a 500 kilovolt power line and BPA decided making it wider wasn’t going to work out.
For others in the area, the waiting continues.
In a letter to landowners, Project Manager Mark Korsness says BPA will continue to study other routes over the next several weeks. By spring, the agency expects to release a Draft Environmental Impact Statement that should narrow down the list of potential routes even further.
Known as the I-5 Corridor Reinforcement Project, BPA wants to build a 70-mile long high voltage power line from Castle Rock, Washington to Troutdale, Oregon. BPA says the line is needed to handle growing energy demands in the Portland-Vancouver area.
The need isn’t the dispute, according to Mike Schmauch of A Better Way For BPA. But his group says BPA should follow an existing power line west of the Columbia River in Oregon, or move it further east through private and public forest, or seriously considering burying it.
For more information:
The latest BPA map of possible routes (Opens a PDF file)
BPA I-5 Corridor Reinforcement Project
Earlier stories:
Landowners to BPA: Move That Power Line!
BPA Looking At New High Voltage Power Line for SW Washington
Word is they are looking at a line further East of Line#29 that was brought up at the 30 minute meeting with Clark County Commissioners today. Doesn’t sound like burying is likely as the cost is 10 times overhead lines and repair is difficult. Plus the heat they put off has been mentioned.
[...] leave a comment » One of the big issues in the realization of a smart grid in this country is a simple one: access. To effectively build a new power distribution infrastructure will require right of way and access to new areas that are not currently served by the existing electrical grid. Many of the locations for wind farms and solar arrays are in remote areas. Getting a contiguous connection between the generation of power and consumers is important to making the smart grid a reality. There have been issues with fiber optics being laid along railroad right of ways and issues with power lines in Oregon and SW Washington. [...]