December 1, 2014
Illinois

Wind-power line proposed through area

TONY HUFFMAN | The Effingham Daily News | November 30, 2014 | www.effinghamdailynews.com

Representatives of a proposed electrical transmission line are informing residents in Cumberland and Shelby counties of their plans to run the line through those areas via public meetings Monday and Tuesday.

Clean Line Energy, which is proposing the electrical line to bring wind-generated power from Kansas to Illinois, has initiated the meetings in an attempt to not only share information about the project but gain input from area residents as well.

The meetings begin today with one in Greenup for Cumberland County landowners. The meeting will be held at the Greenup Municipal Building, located at 115 E. Cumberland St. from 5 to 8 p.m. Shelby County residents interested in the proposed plans can attend a similar meeting at First Church of Nazarene Christian Life Center, located at 416 N. Will St., from 7 to 10 a.m. Tuesday.

The Houston-based company is developing the Grain Belt Express Clean Line, an approximately 750-mile overhead direct current transmission line that will deliver wind power from Kansas to Illinois and surrounding states.

A 150-to-200-foot right-of-way will be needed for the project and will need to be approved by the Illinois Commerce Commission. A map on the company’s website shows a potential route that stretches through Illinois, including Greenup and Shelby County, among other proposed locations outside the Effingham Daily News area. The company is seeking input from residents on a route that will minimize impact in those communities.

“Following the public meetings, the number of potential routes will be reduced based on the feedback received during the public meetings and other sources of information,” the website states.

The website further states there are “tremendous economic development opportunities in the communities that host the line” from the creation of thousands of temporary jobs and hundreds of permanent jobs to dramatically reduced pollutants by millions of tons. In addition to job creation benefits, the company also claims consumers – both residential and commercial in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and states to the east – will benefit from lower electricity prices resulting from the increased competition in electricity supply that the project will bring.

A representative of Clean Line Energy wasn’t available for comment Friday afternoon

www.grainbeltexpresscleanline.com


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2014/12/01/wind-power-line-proposed-through-area/