Texas HVDC line to reach Louisiana and Mississippi

Pattern Energy Group LP says it has reached a milestone in development of its Southern Cross transmission project in an agreement with several Texas utilities and making two applications with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. “Pattern is making steady progress on the development of its Southern Cross project, which will let Texas share its abundant economically feasible wind energy resources with its neighbor states to the southeast,” said Pattern Energy CEO Mike Garland. “The Southern Cross project will create new jobs, generate investment and economic development in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, and provide the southeast with the opportunity to access low-cost-renewable energy from Texas.” The company has developed more than 2,500 MW of wind power projects.

Pattern, through its affiliate Southern Cross Transmission, has completed negotiation of a Settlement Agreement with Oncor Electric Delivery Company, CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric, and the City of Garland, Texas and its municipal-owned electric utility Garland Power & Light, regarding the terms and conditions for the interconnection of the project with ERCOT and the provision of transmission service into and out of ERCOT from the project, contingent upon the receipt of necessary regulatory approvals from FERC.

The Settlement Agreement is part of an application Pattern filed at FERC requesting an order from the Commission directing Garland to interconnect the project with ERCOT and directing Oncor and CenterPoint to provide transmission service into and out of ERCOT. The order will also contain a clear disclaimer of jurisdiction by the Commission, ensuring the continued status quo of all transmission providers and entities within ERCOT as generally exempt from FERC regulation. In addition, Pattern filed a separate application at FERC requesting authority to sell transmission service on Southern Cross at negotiated rates with interested shippers. This rate application details the proposed provisions for subscribing anchor tenants and holding an open season as a participant funded transmission project.

Mayor Ronald E. Jones of the City of Garland said, “This project will allow Texas to share its abundant wind energy resources with neighboring states in the southeast in a manner that results in increased reliability of the energy grid within Texas. The City’s participation in the project will provide an economic benefit to the ratepayers of Garland while furthering Garland’s commitment to renewable energy.”

Pattern is developing the Southern Cross project to add a high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission tie of up to 3,000 MW between ERCOT in Texas and the transmission grid deep in the southeastern United States by 2016. This project is expected to facilitate the further development of additional Texas wind projects by creating access to new markets. The Southern Cross project will let Texas expand its traditional role as an energy supplier, adding wind energy to its portfolio of major exports.

Pattern Energy has developed other transmission projects, including the Trans Bay Cable project under San Francisco Bay. This submarine transmission line completed in 2010 and is serving up to 40% of San Francisco’s and the northern peninsula’s energy needs.

Pattern Energy Group LP
 www.patternenergy.com

High voltage dc line planned to cross Iowa

Although wind development is surging in many states, transmission developments lag. The problem is conventional transmission lines. They are hobbled by a lack of capacity.
Clean Line Energy Partners have several plans to address the issue. One, the Rock Island Clean Line, is a proposal to construct and operate a roughly 500-mile overhead electrical transmission line across Iowa to Illinois. The project represents a potential investment of $1.7 billion to construct the high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line. It also has potential to influence up to $7 billion in new wind-farm construction in the region, along with the creation of up to 500 jobs, not to mention up to 5,000 construction jobs.

“Clean Line Energy Partners was created to meet a need to bring power from where it is readily available to where it is needed in the most efficient way,” says Clean Line Director of Development Hans Detweiler. “Northwest Iowa is on the east end of the nation’s wind resources, so it’s the easiest point to acquire wind power. The Rock Island Clean Line would let us bring that power to where it is needed.”

“With the power transmission grid is operating at capacity, there isn’t a lot of new wind-farm construction underway because there is no capacity to get the power from turbines to consumers,” says Detweiler. He says the Rock Island Clean Line was so named because Clean Line had obtained an option to use the abandoned right-of-way of the defunct Rock Island Railroad, in hopes of using the right-of-ways as the route for transmission lines. But after route studies, it was decided a more direct line would be most economical and efficient to construct and operate, as well as having less of an impact on communities and landowners.

“We’ve maintained all along …that we didn’t want to bring transmission lines through towns or disturb sensitive areas,” said Detweiler.  The company held several open-house meetings to show people the plan and ask for suggestions and comments as far as the best places to run a transmission line. Several corridors are being considered to find a best route.

After determining a final route, the corridor will be narrowed to a right-of-way easement of 150 to 200-ft wide, with landowners retaining full property ownership and rights to use the land for farming and other purposes. A difference for the Rock Island Clean Line is that it is a dc transmission line rather than ac. HVDC generally works more efficiently over long distances. And stray voltage issues don’t occur with dc lines as they do with ac lines. What’s more, a dc transmission line requires about a third the right of way of that of that needed for a conventional ac transmission line.

O’Brien and Cherokee counties are being considered for a 65-acre, $250 million station that will convert the ac current from wind farms into dc for transmission to a similar station in northern Illinois. Studies show that most power on a dc line would come from wind sources located within 50 to 100 miles of a converter station.

Costs for the Clean Line are running about $2 million per mile. The line is expected to generate about 5,000 construction jobs over two or three years, and then, property taxes of $7,000 per mile, every year, coming back to each county. And, that does not include the development and construction of additional wind farms that could move forward once an outlet for their power is available.

The proposed line will deliver about 3,500 MW to points east, an amount equal to that now generated by existing wind turbines in Iowa.  ”Wind firms in the state, such as Trinity, that manufacture turbine blades in Newton, Axion in West Branch, and Clipper in Cedar Rapids all support projects like this for the potential it brings to the wind industry.”
After completing its public outreach efforts, the plan goes before the Iowa Utilities Board for approval. “Once we receive that, we would begin site planning and permitting and land acquisition efforts. In 2013, we would anticipate signing agreements with customers for the delivery of the power and be finalizing the land acquisition for the actual right-of-way to build the line. Construction would begin in 2014.”
The Rock Island Clean Line is one of four such projects proposed by Clean Line. Similar projects are being proposed for the Grain Belt Express from Kansas into eastern Missouri, the Plains and Eastern Line from Oklahoma into Arkansas and Tennessee, and the Centennial West Line from New Mexico into Arizona and California. “We want to deliver clean energy to communities and people who need it,” said Detweiler. “We’re hoping to create the new farm-to-market road for the 21st Century.”

HVDC cable could trim most grid losses

High voltage dc transmission lines are one way to reduce the amount of power lost in transmission grids from the current average of about 8% to an estimated 1 to 2%, according to Wolfgang Dehen, chief executive of Siemens’ energy unit.

Traditional lines typically lose 8% of power in transmission, leading to higher costs and lower earnings for energy companies. New technology, such as high-voltage direct current, trims the amount of power lost so associated costs also drop, according to Dehen.

He says it is possible to connect cities with distant renewable wind and water farms, and cited the 2,000 km HVDC transmission lines under construction in China. The line will link the Xiangjiaba hydro-electric power plant in the south west to Shanghai on the north-east coast by year’s end. “It’s definitely a higher cost cable, but it’s the only way to bridge the distance and transport large amounts of power from a generation center to users,” he says.

145 kV double-circuit cable connects wind farm to mainland

ABB, Zurich, Switzerland, will supply, install, and commission 116 km of underground cable and 56 km of submarine cable, to strengthen the existing transmission grid and allow using more wind power from the Rødsand II offshore wind park which will be commissioned late 2010. The 145-kV cable is intended to manage overload and has a double-circuit option which helps secure power transmission even if the cable gets damaged. The cable will contribute to Denmark’s goal of 30% renewable energy consumption by 2020.
“This shows how ABB technologies are helping integrate renewable energy, thereby letting more wind power flow into electricity systems”, says Per Haugland, global head of ABB’s Grid Systems business.