The first of two public informative open houses were held last night in Ferdinand, as residents were able to view and share input on the proposed 345 kV line from Southern Indiana to Northern Kentucky.
Last night, at the Ferdinand Community Center, landowners in the area were able to take a detailed look into potential transmission line routes for the new proposed 345 kV line from Duff to Coleman.
Republic Transmission hosted the open house meeting to gather public input into the routing process. Questionnaire evaluations where on hand for landowners to voice their comments and or concerns with where the potential line routes could be decided.
Republic has been designated to design, construct and operate a new single circuit 345 kilo-volt high voltage electric transmission line from the Duff substation in southern Indiana to the Coleman substation in northern Kentucky.
The project was decided necessary through ongoing studies and evaluations by the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO). In their findings they considered seasonal demand fluctuations along with growing consumer needs and the integration of renewable energy.
In 2015 MISO identified the need for a new transmission line in the area due to congestion on the existing lines which where operating close to full capacity. Currently, there is no direct connection between the two points of Duff and Coleman. Power between these areas are carried through multiple grids of transmission lines, some of which are lower voltage, and can reach their capacity during certain operating conditions in a more accelerated time frame than their correspondent lines.
In the case of connecting voltage, the power being passed between each station must be equal. Leaving the scenario of connecting same voltage to the same voltage, with each station, in Duff and Coleman already operating at 345 kV it was decided to connect the stations to avoid putting expensive equipment into the current grid.
While there is no preferred route or selected route there have been 17 different link options identified. During the public open house landowners where able to view the 17 preliminary routes and were encouraged to give feed back that could potentially impact their land.
Adam Gastewaies a project manager for Republic Transmission discussed the importance of the open house and what’s in-store for landowners of the final determined route passage…
When a final decision is made on the route, republic transmission will face acquiring easements to the property for the project. During the meeting concerns of landowners where made apparent when it comes to 345,000 volts of electrify flowing overhead.
The construction carrying the 345 kV line will consist of an steel H frame carrying aluminum conductor steel reinforced lines allowing correct current flow during all conditions. In some limited cases, steel 3-pole guyed monopole structures could be used. Suspension insulators are used for high voltage lines and increase with higher voltages. The 345 kV line will feature suspension insulators that will be close to 9 feet in length.
Republic Transmission is a partnership between LS Power and Bloomington based, Hoosier Energy. They are also teaming up with Big Rivers Electric Corporation on the project, owners of the Coleman Plant. The Duff substation is owned by Vectren Corporation.
Republic Transmission has another scheduled informative meeting for tonight in Santa Claus at the Santa’s Lodge-Celebration Room located at 91 W. Christmas Blvd. between the hours of 4 pm till 7 pm central time.
During the open house detailed maps showing the proposed routes and other information will be available for individuals to review. Republic and its consultants will consider information gained from public feed back during these open house meetings into overall routing evaluation.
Below is a link of the landowner questionnaire for homeowners in the proposed route passages. http://www.republictransmission.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Open-House-Questionnaire.pdf
