Idaho Power 1,500-mile line would start at Boardman, run to Boise; go online 2013

摘要

Idaho Power plans to build a 298-mile, 1,500-MW transmission line from Boardman, Oregon, to near Boise, Idaho, to relieve congestion on its current system and accommodate future service requests. While the 500-kV line would be intended partly to carry the output of new wind farms and other plants built along the route, the company said in documents filed with the Oregon Energy Site Evaluation Council that it would build the project anyway, to fill its own needs. Idaho Power owns a 10% interest in the 584-MW Boardman coal-fired plant, where the line would originate. "The existing transmission system from southern Idaho into Washington and Oregon is at full capacity during heavy demand periods," said spokesman Russ Jones. "We need to link to the Boardman area to get more capacity. This line gives us more power options." Construction would begin in 2011 and the line would be energized in 2013.