石油長者が風力用の大規模送電線を建設

ワイオミングからＳＶやカリフォルニアに３００万ｋＷ分の風力発電の電気を送る送電線建設計画が進んでいます。３３００億円かけて送電線を整備するとか。

http://www.canadianbusiness.com/markets/market_news/article.jsp?content=D9285NMO1

Anschutz Corp. to develop $3 billion power line in southern Wyoming

July 30, 2008 - 08:14 a.m.

The Anschutz Corp. said Tuesday that it has taken over as developer of a $3 billion power line project designed to carry electricity from Wyoming to the southwest United States.

The corporation, owned by Denver billionaire Phil Anschutz, said it will develop the TransWest Express Project through an affiliate called TransWest Express LLC, also based in Denver.

The proposed project involves building a 900-mile, 3,000-megawatt high-voltage transmission line to deliver Wyoming wind-generated power to Las Vegas, Nev., and then on to southern California and the Phoenix area.

Anschutz recently applied for a permit to build 1,000 wind turbines near Rawlins in the southern Wyoming, where the power line would be located.

Until now, the TransWest project had involved the Arizona Public Service Co., the Wyoming Infrastructure Authority and National Grid, a British utility company.

The three had spent about $2.8 million on the project over the last couple of years, mostly on preliminary planning, such as studies on where the line should be placed, said Steve Waddington, executive director of the Wyoming Infrastructure Authority.

The Infrastructure Authority has invested about $440,000 in the project, while Arizona Public Service and National Grid have split the rest of the costs, he said.

Anschutz officials declined to comment on any financial aspects of the transaction, but Waddington said the corporation did not put up any money to acquire the project.

"They're basically promising to spend money going forward," Waddington said. "It's at the point now where the dollars will start to get bigger in order to progress it because it's such a big project."

The next step in the project's development is to obtain various permits and conduct environmental impact studies, Waddington said. The permitting and environmental studies could take several years to complete before any construction could begin, he said.

Arizona Public Service will remain in an advisory role, while National Grid will leave the project, Waddington said.

A study by National Grid released this month concluded that wind-generated power produced in southern Wyoming is the most viable option for meeting the clean power demands of the desert Southwest.