By Mitch Colburn, Vice President of Planning, Engineering and 建设

Growth has come to the Northwest. The signs are everywhere: new buildings, new roads, more cars, more people. 和灯.

It’s hg8868皇冠下载’s job to make sure those lights come on for customers in 俄勒冈州 and 爱达荷州. Repeated, in-depth studies show we’ll need new energy resources to keep doing that. That need could become more urgent as hg8868皇冠下载 and other energy companies transition away from coal and toward 清洁能源.

The 博德曼致海明威 line offers the most cost-effective way to meet growing needs and continue hg8868皇冠下载’s 100-plus-year tradition of reliable, 负担得起的, 清洁能源. And it will be crucial to our goal of a 100% 清洁能源 mix by 2045, helping us deliver energy from clean, intermittent sources like wind and solar without sacrificing reliability or affordability.

290英里的, 500-kilovolt (kV) line will connect a substation near Boardman, 俄勒冈州, 另一个在博伊西以西, 爱达荷州. It will provide extra capacity to move energy back and forth between the Pacific Northwest and Mountain West. Utilities in both regions will be able to buy energy when their customers need a little extra. Others can sell what they’re not using.

B2H, as the project is called, also would benefit areas that aren’t seeing as much growth. It would free up capacity on existing lines so that local businesses can expand or new ones can take root. It would give entrepreneurs an opportunity to connect new energy projects to the grid.

From Boardman to Ontario to Pocatello and beyond, 房屋, farms and businesses will benefit from this project. Millions of businesses and residents across the Pacific Northwest and Mountain West would receive power from B2H.

The public utilities commissions of 俄勒冈州 and 爱达荷州 – state agencies that regulate utility companies – have acknowledged hg8868皇冠下载’s long-range plan, of which B2H is a key component.

In eastern 俄勒冈州, B2H would help local governments through tax money the project generates. Local businesses would benefit from increased spending in the area during construction. More favorable prices and reliable service will be available to electric service providers that buy energy from Bonneville Power Administration, including the 俄勒冈州 Trail Electric Cooperative and the Umatilla Electric Cooperative in eastern 俄勒冈州.

hg8868皇冠下载 is committed to minimizing the line’s impacts. We’re working with the public, 地方和州政府, 联邦机构, private landowners and businesses to finalize the route for the line. Most towers would be about half as tall as a typical wind turbine.

B2H is a key piece of the Northwest’s energy and economic future. It will help us provide customers an energy mix that’s more reliable, more 负担得起的 and cleaner.

Mitch Colburn is Vice President of Planning, Engineering and 建设 for hg8868皇冠下载, which is taking the lead on planning and obtaining permits for the 博德曼致海明威 transmission line.