A new name has emerged in Minnesota’s effort to meet the State’s “carbon-free” by 2024 mandate.
Randy Fordcye, XCel Energy transmission communications and public affairs manager, updated Lyon County Commissioners Tuesday on the PowerOn Midwest project.
PowerOn Midwest is a group of four utilities — Great River Energy, ITC Midwest, Otter Tail Power Company and Xcel — and is in the early stages of a transmission line project designed to provide continued electric reliable energy to the Upper Midwest. Its Midwest study area includes Murray, Pipestone, Rock, Nobles, Jackson and parts of Lincoln, Lyon, Redwood and Cottonwood counties.
The projects would include a 765 kilovolt transmission line using multiple 140- 150-foot wide, 150- 175-foot tall structures. Five of the structures would be placed per mile, with a ground clearance of 60-80 feet. They would be placed 125 feet from the centerline of their respective roadway.
“It’s a higher voltage class and is used throughout the country, particularly on the East Coast and other parts of the Midwest,” Fordyce said. “This project will be able to deliver a large amount of electric much more efficiently that the current system would be able to do.”
Fordcye said the 765 kV line has been identified in the planning process as opposed to as many as six single-circuit 345 kV lines or three double-circuit 345 kV lines.
“PowerOn Midwest is a little bit different than some of the more recent projects we’ve worked on,” Fordyce said. “It’s a joint effort — kind of similar to the CapX2020 projects — where we’re partnering with utilities in the region that operate our transmission system.”
Fordcye described PowerOn Midwest as the next step in what he called this region’s energy story — a long-term vision that looks 10-20 years down the road.
“We see a real significant increase in expected demand, both in Minnesota and throughout the surrounding region that our current system that has been built up over the last decades just won’t be able to serve,” said Fordyce. “That includes an increase in general electric use from expanding populations, expanding manufacturing, new industries … the ways that we’re using energy is changing.
Fordyce said these changes are adding more pressure to the current system, and more must be done to accommodate them and replace plans that are again out and need to be replaced.
“Tomorrow’s reliability starts today; these are longterm projects that take about a decade to develop,” Fordyce said.
Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) estimates that between $11$25 billion in economic benefits would be a reality, with a return of about $1.60-$3.10 for each dollar invested. MISO is a nonprofit organization regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and tasked with operating a large portion of the country’s electric grid.
Fordyce said the new grid will enable new technologies, whether it’s wind, solar, battery storage or natural gas.
The project would have little direct impact on local residents such as other renewable energy projects have. PowerOn Midwest’s Certificate of Needs would be required for substations in Brookings County (SD) and Jackson County near the Minnesota/Iowa border, as well as three others in southeast Minnesota.
“This will enable continued access to additional wind energy, reducing a lot of the congestion issues that have popped up as more projects have been developed,” said Fordyce.
Construction on the project is tentatively slated to begin anywhere between 2030-2034, with energization taking place between 2032-34. Open house events on the project will take place on Monday, Nov. 3, from 4-6 p.m. at 5 Family Ranch just south of Marshall, and on Tuesday, Nov. 4, from 4-6 p.m. at the Fulda American Legion building.
