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3 April 2008 -- The Texas electric grid operator said the price tag to build new power lines to bring wind power to the state's biggest cities could range from $3 billion to $9 billion, in a report filed with state regulators.
Following legislation passed in 2005, the Texas Public Utility Commission began working to speed up construction of high-voltage transmission lines to tap into renewable power. Wind farms are located across a sparsely populated west Texas, far from Dallas, Houston and San Antonio, where electric demand is concentrated.
After identifying the areas with the best potential for new wind generation, the commission ordered the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) to design routes to move 5,100 MW to 17,500 MW to the state's big cities.
ERCOT said two scenarios to gather and transfer a total of 12,000 MW on 345 kV lines could cost from $2.95 billion to $3.78 billion, depending on the number of lines built.
A more ambitious plan to bring as much as 18,400 MW into populated areas could cost $4.93 billion, the report said.
The most expensive plan, to bring more than 24,000 MW of wind generation to the eastern half of the state, could cost from $5.75 billion to $6.38 billion, the report said.
Using larger, 765 kv power lines could raise that cost to $9 billion, ERCOT said.
Transmission companies interested in building new lines include units of Babcock and Brown, ITC Holdings Corp., FPL Group, AES, BP Wind, Shell WindEnergy, CenterPoint Energy and privately held Sharyland Utilities and Energy Future Holdings Corp.
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