N.C. regulators approve Progress Energy transmission line route
The North Carolina Utilities Commission last week approved Progress Energy Carolinas’ selected route for a 64-mile, 230-kV electric transmission line between Richmond and Cumberland counties in the North Carolina Sandhills.
The transmission line, announced in 2007, is part of a project that includes a 600-MW natural gas–fueled power plant to be built at the company’s Richmond County Energy Complex near Hamlet.
The commission had issued a certificate of public convenience and necessity for the power plant on Oct. 13, confirming that it would be necessary to meet rising energy demands. On Oct. 31, the regulatory body issued a certificate for the power line.
The transmission route runs from the Richmond County Energy Complex east along Interstate 74 for about five miles. It then turns to the southeast and joins Progress Energy’s existing 500-kV transmission line corridor just before entering Scotland County. The route then runs parallel to existing 230-kV and 500-kV transmission lines for approximately 18 miles through Scotland County. After crossing the Lumber River, the route turns northeast and extends across rural Hoke County south of Raeford into Cumberland County, where it turns north to enter the Fort Bragg Army Base. There, the line will tie into an existing Progress Energy Carolinas electric substation.
The route was chosen from among about 500 potential routes because it minimizes the overall impact of the 230-kV line on the area, including homes, and natural and cultural resources.
Progress Energy officials met with hundreds of property owners and others as part of the process of evaluating potential routes. The company said it had also worked extensively with environmental agencies to minimize impacts and with Fort Bragg officials to site as much of the line as possible on base property without compromising the base’s critical training missions in supporting national security.
Progress Energy said it will now move forward with acquisition of easements to accommodate the power line. The company expects to negotiate easements with about 200 property owners.
Current plans call for the power plant to be in service in mid-2011.
“The project is a critical part of Progress Energy Carolinas’ ability to meet the growing needs of its Carolinas customers. Even in the current economic downturn, the company expects its service area to grow by more than 20,000 new homes and businesses this year,” the company said in a statement.
Source: Progress Energy