DCW withdraws application for transmission line

The schedule for approval of Dodge County Wind LLC’s applications to build a wind farm and transmission line in Steele, Dodge and Olmsted counties is now more uncertain as the company asked the PUC for permission to withdraw its application for the route permit.
DCW has applied to the state for permission to construct a 68-turbine wind farm in Dodge and Steele counties with the electricity to be sent to a substation near Byron in Olmsted County by way of a 345 Kilovolt high-voltage transmission line.
Before the project can be started DCW needs to obtain a Certificate of Need, a Site Permit and a Route Permit from the State of Minnesota.
Last week the company notified the Public Utilities Commission that it wanted to withdraw the Route Permit application and also suspend the procedural schedule for the project. The withdrawal request said that one of the interconnection points planned was more expensive than originally thought and the company wants to find a new location. DCW said it intends to submit a new application once it has located a new site for the interconnection. 
Last month the PUC released its Draft Environmental Impact Statement on the project which identified two of four potential transmission line routes as practical. The PUC also issued a procedural schedule setting dates for public hearings before an administrative law judge on all three applications, time allowed for public comment and submission of a recommendation to the PUC. 
The withdrawal of the Route Permit does not affect the two other applications.
Two public meetings, scheduled for Tuesday afternoon and evening on Aug. 20 were unaffected by the latest events and were still scheduled for 1 and 6 p.m. in Kasson.
The original Route Permit submitted by DCW suggested two potential routes for the transmission line, both going through the southern, mostly rural areas of Dodge County. Earlier this year the PUC requested that the company submit two more routes that would more closely follow existing transmission lines. These two routes went though residential and business areas of both Dodge Center and Kasson and resulted in considerable public opposition.
The draft EIS rejected the two added routes as too disruptive to residents and businesses and also considerably more expensive for the company.