ERMUSR MISC 08-14-2007 - Laserfiche WebLink

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ALESS-CHARGED DEBATE POWER FROM I31 George Crocker, one of the opponents of the 1970s trans- mission project and a critic of the latest proposal, said he ex- pects abig public turnout - in formal forums, not in the streets. "Instead of the tension be- ing out in the field, the tension will be in the hearing room, in putting the facts on the table," said Crocker, executive direc- tor ofthe North American Wa- ter Office, an environmental group based in Lake Elmo. "I think it's a certainty that there won't be the response that we had in 1978," he said, adding, "We'll see if the system is able to be fair." Crocker said an alternative plan -stringing lower-voltage lines short distances from wind turbines scattered across the state -would be cheaper and simpler to implement, a prem- ise Xcel officials dispute. The scope of the proposed transmission upgrade is un- precedented, said Laura Mc- Carten, an Xcel executive who is co-executive director of the project, called CapX 2020. "To the magnitude we're working on these projects, it's never happened before," she said. Since 1980, consumer de- mand for electricity in the state has doubled. In a primer Filed on www.capx2020.com, the utilities note that in 2006, the average home had 26 elec- tronic devices, from high-def- inition TVs and DVD players to digital cameras and cordless phones. In 1975, a typical home had two or fewer. The proposed transmission lines will add capacity to carry 4,000 to 6,000 megawatts, or the equivalent of enough ener- gy to power 4 million to G mil- lionhomes. Peak demand now is about 20,000 megawatts. The utilities also argue that the drive for alternative sourc- es of energy -chiefly wind turbines - requires more transmission lines to move electricity from the breezy bluffs of rural southwest Min- nesota to customers in urban areas. The companies don't ex- pect to cross the property of all 73,000 landowners receiv- ing notice. "We're designing this to be the most open process ever for a transmission project," Mc- Carten said. Any owner of land within a dozen miles of potential routes was notified, even though the exact transmission paths won't be set for months. The utilities have held talks with public offi- cials in more than 100 commu- nities, in an attempt to answer questions and allay fears. In the 1970s, many oppo- nents of transmission expan- sion were stirred by thoughts that electrical "leakage" from high power lines hurt people or animals - a concern an- swered, if not put to rest, by a number of scientific studies that found no link between the lines and illness. Property rights also pro- pelled opponents, who were worried that the utilities could get government to seize land for transmission lines. But the uti]ties note that along a 150-mile transmission line expansion underway in southwest Minnesota, just eight of 390 parcels in the path of the lines are in condemna- tion proceedings. " We expect to settle six," Xcel spokeswom- an Mary Sandok said. Land- owners usually receive a one- time payment in compensa- tion for transmission line con- struction. After the lines are up, livestock and farm equip- ment simply navigate around the towers, which are 120 to 150 feet high and spaced 600 to 1,000 feet apart. The Miiuiesota Public Util- ities Commission will hold hearings over the next cou- ple of years to decide if the CapX2020 transmission lines are needed, and the commis- sion must approve the pro- posed routes. Meanwhile, the Minnesota Department of Commerce will seek public comment and prepare an en- vironmental report. Mike Meyers • 612-673-1746