Wind Today - Q4 2008 - (Page 48) T ransmission A Look at North American T ransmission Lines The Wyoming-Colorado Intertie In the fall of 2005, a partnership was formed between the Wyoming Infrastructure Authority (WIA), Trans-Elect Development Company (Trans-Elect), and Western Area Power Administration (Western) to review how to expand transmission capacity along the Wyoming-Colorado border. By early 2006, the partnership led to the formation of the Wyoming-Colorado Intertie Transmission Project (WCI), an 850 megawatt (MW) transmission line project that is capable of providing electricity to approximately two million customers annually in Colorado. The WCI project, which will include a 345 kilovolt (kV) AC line originating at the Laramie River Station (LRS) in Wyoming, is the first new transmission line to be built in the region in more than 15 years. The route runs from the wind-rich areas of southeastern Wyoming to the Pawnee substation northeast of Denver, CO. According to WIA Interim Executive Director Loyd Drain, the 200-mile line was recommended for development by a consensus of regional stakeholders in the Rocky Mountain Area Transmission Study (RMATS) in 2005. “The project will provide access to Wyoming’s resources to the benefit of electricity customers along the Colorado Front Range in the form of competitively priced, clean, and dependable power to supplement electric generation from in-state sources,” says Drain. Wind Energy According to Drain, there are presently more than 25 wind energy projects under various stages of development in the WCI area. An open-season bidding process in which wind developers subscribed to 585 MW, or 70% of the line’s capacity, was concluded in August. In midNovember, the remaining unsold 265 MW of capacity became available for purchase by qualified applicants. The protocol for acquiring the remaining capacity has been posted at www.WCIntertie.com. The geographical diversity of combining Wyoming’s wind resources with that of Colorado is a significant, quantified benefit, as well, says Drain. The inservice date of the project is scheduled for 2013/2014. Heather Ervin, associate editor Response No. 481 48 WIND TODA Y Fourth Quarter 2008 http://www.ziegler-industries.com http://www.WCIntertie.com http://www.ziegler-industries.com
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