NO Grid North Partners – transmission f/k/a CapX 2020

Today the PUC approved all but one part of the CapX 2020 Brookings-Hampton route.  The blue part labeled “CH” on the above map, and which is referred to as “Segment 4” in the EIS, which includes the river crossings at LeSueur and Belle Plaine, has been remanded to the ALJ to fill in the record regarding the most recent USFWS letter:

June 10, 2010 – USFWS Letter

June 10, 2010 – USFWS Letter part 2

Here are my notes from the meeting, it’s close but no cigar, a lot is missing, lots of misspellings, but it’s important for you to get a feel how this all came down and I’m not about to relive it and edit and correct — what you see is what you get:

July 15 notes

CLICK HERE FOR WEBCAST OF PUC MEETING

Finance & Commerce leads the charge in reporting:

July 15, 2010 4:34 PM CDT

MPUC approves Brookings Project route

by Bob Geiger Staff Writer

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) has approved a route permit for the $700 million to $725 million Brookings Project electric transmission line, giving a cartel of electric utilities its second route approval.

MPUC approved the route permit for the 345-kilovolt transmission line between Brookings County in South Dakota and Hampton, with the exception of a segment of transmission line crossing the Minnesota River.

After the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service expressed concern about the impact on birds of a transmission line crossing the Minnesota River, the five-member MPUC voted to have an administrative law judge consider that issue.

Excluding the line segment crossing the river, MPUC members approved 200 miles of the 240-mile route proposed by CapX2020, a joint initiative of 11 utilities supporting the $2 billion network that includes 700 miles of transmission lines.

If necessary, the administrative law judge will schedule a hearing to provide additional information about the transmission line crossing the Minnesota River. CapX2020 proposed two river crossings for review; one near Le Sueur and one near Belle Plaine.
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