Author Topic: Major new power line under consideration for California  (Read 2362 times)

Offline Danl

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Major new power line under consideration for California
« on: April 23, 2006, 09:23:09 AM »
I have included this article in its entirety along with the URL.? I suggest you visit the site to read it but I include it here since sometimes the sites remove their articles in a short time.
Regards, Danl


http://www.shns.com/shns/g_index2.cfm?action=detail&pk=POWERLINE-04-23-06

Major new power line under consideration for California

By MARK MARTIN
San Francisco Chronicle
23-APR-06

Momentum is growing for a plan to create a major new electricity transmission line connecting three interior Western states to California that could be a boon to California's efforts to boost its use of renewable energy _ or could lead to new, high-pollution power plants.

Seven utilities, including Pacific Gas & Electric, announced last week that they would work with state government officials in the four states to determine the feasibility of the so-called Frontier Line, which is proposed to feed the growing energy appetite of the West.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has hailed the proposal as a way to supply California with cheap, clean electricity, allowing the state to tap into wind and solar power in other Western states. But many environmentalists in the West say the line also could spark the development of several new power plants that would use coal as a fuel and add to global warming and local health problems.

The line would connect Wyoming _ which has an abundance of coal _ with California and run through Utah and Nevada.

"It will either be a wonderful way to access some of the country's best renewable resources or, under cover of environmental rhetoric, foster a whole new generation of dirty plants," said Daniel Kammen, director of the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley. "No one can say for sure right now how this will go."

Schwarzenegger administration officials have insisted the Frontier Line will help California cut energy costs and meet growing electricity needs without hurting his goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions or requiring the state's utilities to generate more power through renewable sources. The state's Public Utilities Commission, which oversees utilities, has announced its opposition to utilities signing contracts for high-polluting power, a step Kammen said gave him some confidence the Frontier Line could lead to clean energy for the state.

And on Monday, the governor signed an agreement with the governor of Wyoming, Dave Freudenthal, to seek federal funding to build a coal-fueled power plant in Wyoming that would use new technologies to virtually eliminate greenhouse gas emissions.

The partnership among states "will help us get wind, solar, geothermal and clean coal power delivered to places where it's needed most," Schwarzenegger said in a statement.

The project is clearly important to other Western states, who could see a big economic boost by selling power to California. The governors of Wyoming, Utah and Montana all were present Monday at a conference regarding the Frontier Line that is being held this week in San Diego.

Schwarzenegger did not attend.

The Frontier Line, first unveiled last year by Schwarzenegger and three other governors, is still a long way from fruition. Estimates are that it might cost between $4 billion and $6 billion, and the governors' idea is to involve state governments in the planning process but then attempt to attract private investment to build it. The line would then draw investments in power projects along the route.

PG&E and the other utilities, including two in California and others in Nevada, Utah, and Colorado, agreed Monday to look at how to build the line, where it should go and how much it will ultimately cost.




(Distributed by Scripps-McClatchy Western Service, http://www.shns.com.)
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