DoE Releases New Powerline Report

MONTANA, Oct 01 2008 (Neo Natura) - Government regulators have chosen a preferred route for a high voltage transmission line from Great Falls to Lethbridge, Alta., in an effort to balance the developer's cost with the disruption caused to farmers.

Montana's Department of Environmental Quality and the U.S. Department of Energy on Monday released a summary of a long-awaited final environmental impact statement for the 327-kilometre Montana Alberta Tie Line. The statement outlines the preferred alternative and several others.

The line would travel about 210 kilometres and cross six counties in Montana. The carrying capacity of 300 megawatts of electricity in each direction has been sold to prospective wind farm developers.

Federal and provincial authorities in Canada have already approved the line and a final decision by the U.S. and Montana departments could come within a month, regulators said.

The plan preferred by the federal and state authorities differs from the tie line group's preferred plan but doesn't go as far as some farmers had hoped, said Greg Hallsten, the environmental impact statement co-ordinator for the Montana authority.

"We basically sat down with the director and went through this segment by segment, trying to pick which would best serve MATL's needs as well as the landowners," Hallsten said. "It's turned out to be a balancing act."

Bob Williams, vice-president of regulatory affairs for the tie line group, said Monday afternoon he couldn't comment because he had not received the summary of the impact statement.

The 215-kilometre preferred alternative has 134 kilometres of single poles and 79 kilometres of wider H-frames.

The addition of single poles and reduction in lines running diagonally across cropland is a nod to farmers, who have complained about having to manoeuvre machinery around the double poles.

"One of the comments we heard loud and clear was to use monopoles on cultivated ground," the Montana department's Tom Ring said.

By comparison, the tie line group's favoured route is 207 kilometres long, slightly shorter than the government's, and has single poles planned on 43 fewer kilometres of land.

The single poles are taller and cost $359,429 per 1.6 kilometres while the H-frames cost $323,092, according to the environmental study.

The tie line needs a presidential permit from the Department of Energy because it crosses an international boundary and a certificate of compliance from the Montana Department of Environmental Quality, said Ellen Russell, project manager for the U.S. Department of Energy's Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability in Washington, D.C.

Alberta - Montana Power Line Approved

MONTANA, Feb 04 (Neo Natura) - Montana Alberta Tie Ltd. (MATL) has received the final Canadian go-ahead to build and operate a 346km, 230kV AC power line from Lethbridge, Alberta to Great Falls, Montana. On January 31, the Alberta Energyand Utilities Board (EUB) gave conditional approval to build the Canadian portion of the line.

"We are very pleased to receive the EUB's approval, a major step inmoving the project forward," said Mr. Bob Williams, MATL Vice President, Regulatory.

Among the conditions, the EUB has directed MATL to conduct further discussions with affected landowners to address the mitigation of specific impacts on individual landowners.

"We heard the landowner concerns during the public hearing in November. We made commitments to the landowners on are solution process and we are ready to live up to those commitments beginning immediately," said Mr. Williams.

MATL must report back to the EUB by April 30,2008. The MATL line received National Energy Board (NEB) approval in April 2007and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approval in the United Statesin July 2006. US Department of Energy (DOE) is the final regulatory approval required before construction can begin. An Environmental Impact Assessment is scheduled for release in the next several weeks followed by a public comment period before the DOE can release its decision.

The MATL line ties together the Alberta and Montana power grids bringing much needed transmission capacity to Alberta and providing access to the grid for a number of proposed major wind power projects in Northern Montana. As a merchant power line MATL will pay to build and operate the line. There will be no cost to utility rate payers. Montana Alberta Tie Ltd. is a Calgary based company formed to build and operate the Montana Alberta Tie.