Greater Rochester Area Transmission Lines
Pleasant Valley to Byron Transmission Project
Proposal
Xcel Energy proposes to develop a new transmission line in southeastern Minnesota to support the development of generation in the area. The proposal consists of a single 161 kilovolt ("kV") transmission line from Pleasant Valley Substation to Byron Substation. This proposed line is approximately 17 miles long and runs north and south from a substation near the City of Byron to a substation in Pleasant Valley Township in Olmstead County. The line may be located in parts of Olmsted, Mower and Dodge counties. The proposal requires a Certificate of Need and a Route Permit from the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission.
- Greater Rochester Project Fact Sheet (102 KB PDF)
- Corridor Overview Map (486 KB PDF)
- Byron Route Map Section 1 ( 393 KB PDF)
- Byron Photo Map Section 2 (402 KB PDF)
- Byron Photo Map Section 3 (435 KB PDF)
- Byron Photo Map Section 4 (427 KB PDF)
Regulatory Process
Before the project can be built, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission will:
- Determine if the project is needed by reviewing Xcel Energy’s application and by receiving input from the public
- Determine where the line should be located.
As part of the Certificate of Need process, the Minnesota Office of Energy Security will solicit public comment and prepare an environmental report. Additional environmental review will take place during the routing process. The routing process also considers land use and other potential routing impacts.
Public Meetings and Hearings
Both the Certificate of Need and Routing processes emphasize public participation in decisions on energy infrastructure.
There will be meetings and hearings in your area during the coming months. Notices be sent to potentially affected residents and landowners in the area, be sent to local government officials and will be published in local newspapers. This and other project information will be available at the Commission’s website: www.puc.state.mn.us.
Project Timeline and Status
- August 2008: Project Notice Plan filed with the Minnesota Commission
- Fall 2008: Early discussions with local government officials
- November 2008: Public open house meeting hosted by Xcel Energy
- October 2009: Project Notice Mailed to potentially affected landowners
- November 2009: Certificate of Need and Routing Permit Applications filed
- First Quarter 2010: MPUC Scoping Meeting (seeking public input on routes and environmental report.)
- Summer 2010: Environmental Review Published and Hearings Held
- Winter 2010 / 2011: PUC final decision anticipated
Status of Pleasant Valley to Willow Creek 161 kV Line
Xcel Energy originally planned to request permits for two new transmission lines in the area – Pleasant Valley to Byron and Pleasant Valley to Willow Creek. However, at this time we feel it is prudent to proceed with only the Pleasant Valley to Byron project as this project is needed by 2011 to support wind generation projects already operating in the area. Timing of the Willow Creek project is less certain.
Permit applications for the Pleasant Valley to Willow Creek project will be filed when new electric generation facilities, presumably wind power generation, trigger the need for the line. The Willow Creek line would serve two purposes: the first is to deliver power from new generation, presumably wind powered generation, in the Pleasant Valley area south of Rochester. Over the long term the project will also strengthen the reliability of the system serving customers of Rochester Public Utilities and Peoples Cooperative Services.
It is unclear when the generation requiring the Willow Creek line will be developed. If the line is built prior to the generation, we are concerned that customers of local utilities may bear a disproportionate share of the cost of the Willow Creek line. We believe it is prudent to wait for this generation such that the generating plants are allocated a share of the project’s costs.
For more information
For questions regarding project need,please e-mail Paul Lehman, Manager, Regulatory Administration who can help you learn more and add you to a mailing list to receive future information.
For questions regarding proposed routes for the line, please e-mail Tom Hillstrom, Senior Permitting Analyst, or call him at 800-238-7968.
A description of the Minnesota permitting process can be found at: Public Utilities Commission Review of Energy facilities.