A massive 240-mile segment of the CapX2020 project is not just another electric power line. The line, which was formally opened Monday at a substation near Mapleton, N.D., is part of the largest electrical transmission expansion in the Upper Midwest in decades. In near-perfect weather, officials of Xcel Energy and its partners dedicated the new line, which has been under construction from Mapleton to Monticello, Minn., for several years.
Power was turned on for the line about a month ago. By all accounts, it’s working well.
The line not only significantly increases the capacity and flexibility of the regional electric transmission grid, it also enhances reliability. That’s important for a city like Fargo, where, when infrequent power interruptions occur, they won’t last long. The redundancies afforded by CapX and associated improvements allow the system to more efficiently reroute power around an equipment failure.
The new line also was designed to withstand the extremes of Upper Midwest weather, again a factor that will improve the reliability of the entire system.
Xcel and its several partner companies, including Otter Tail Power Co., of Fergus Falls, Minn., understood the need for close collaboration with all stakeholders in the project. That included impacted landowners and communities. Not everyone near the path of the power line was happy, but as projects of such magnitude go, CapX went relatively smoothly.
Of note, among investor-owned regulated utilities, Xcel is the largest producer of electricity generated from wind. In addition to wind generation sites already on line, Xcel will feed wind-generated electricity into the new line from a sprawling new wind farm near Courtenay, N.D. The line’s additional capacity, therefore, allows Xcel and other generation companies to expand their wind power generation. Also, the line’s towers were engineered and manufactured with the future in mind. The arms have room for more wire as its needed.
It’s not easy to build a huge new power line. The obstacles are formidable. Resistance can be organized and effective. In the Mapleton-to-Monticello CapX2020 project, however, it appears Xcel and its partners and collaborators found the formula to secure rights of way, work with communities and regulators, and construct a line with as little disruption as possible. The process looks like a model for other utility companies; and the result is a level of electrical service reliability the region has not been seen before.
Forum editorials represent the opinion of Forum management and the newspaper’s Editorial Board.
