CAISO Approves $94 Million for Tehachapi Transmission Line

The California Independent System Operator July 29 approved Southern California Edison?s plan to build a 25-mile-long, 500 kV transmission line between its Antelope and Pardee substations. The line will bring wind power to Southern California from the proposed 201 MW Fairmont Wind Generation Project in the Tehachapi Mountains. ?We need the transmission to develop the wind,? said Stephanie McCorkle, spokesperson for CAISO. The California Public Utilities Commission requested the $94 million project to open the remote mountain area to hoped-for development of up to 4,475 MW of wind power. The line could be completed as early as December 2006. The grid operator?s action clears the way for Edison to begin design and environmental permitting work for the line, which could be extended to other wind projects in the Tehachapi area. It also gives Edison the green light to file for CPUC and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approvals. Scottish Power Co. subsidiary PPM Energy, Inc., developer of the Fairmont wind project, will split the cost of the transmission line with Edison. Scottish will build an 8.5-mile tie line from its project into the utility?s Antelope substation. The company is seeking CAISO approval for interconnection of an additional 500 MW of wind power in the Tehachapi area, said Donna Jordan, who handles grid planning for CAISO. Development of wind power has been hampered by disputes about how to finance the cost of transmission lines. In this case, PPM plans to ?front the cost? and recover it through rates, said company spokesperson Jan Johnson. PPM is in the process of obtaining needed permits for the wind power project itself, but expects to bring it on line late in 2006, she said.

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CAISO Approves $94 Million for Tehachapi Transmission Line

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