Great Lakes Region Leads U.S. in Transmission & Distribution Projects with $1.66 Billion Under Construction

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The U.S. Great Lakes region leads the rest of the country in transmission and distribution (T&D) projects for the Power Generation Industry, in response to a continuing economic recovery in the region. Tech titans like Amazon.com Incorporated (NASDAQ:AMZN) (Seattle, Washington) and Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) (Menlo Park, California) are investing heavily in Michigan, where the auto industry is experimenting with fresh ideas like self-driving cars, while leading software companies are setting up shop in Indiana. Industrial Info is tracking $1.66 billion in transmission and distribution projects that are under construction in the Great Lakes region.

Click on the image at right for a graph detailing active T&D projects under construction in the Great Lakes region, by state.

The Great Lakes region includes Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin.

Wisconsin is home to the single largest project under construction in the region: Xcel Energy Incorporated's (NYSE:XEL) (Minneapolis, Minnesota) $580 million transmission line from La Crosse to Madison. The 180-mile overhead line originates at Xcel's Bridge Road Substation in La Crosse, continues to American Transmission Company's (ATC) (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) substation in North Madison and terminates at ATC's substation in Cardinal. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

Xcel's project will be built in conjunction with the Green Power Express Transmission Line, which is designed to carry 12,000 megawatts (MW) of wind-generated energy from wind-rich areas to demand centers in the Midwest, according to the Center for Rural Affairs. It is expected to stretch 3,000 miles across North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana.

Indiana only narrowly trails Wisconsin in its total investment value (TIV) for T&D projects under construction, with one of the largest being Northern Indiana Public Service Company's (NIPSCO) 100-mile Reynolds-to-Topeka line. The project is divided into two segments: the $135 million Reynolds-to-Burr Oak line, which included recently completed upgrades to the substation in Burr Oak, and the $135 million Burr Oak-to-Topeka line, which terminates at the Hiple Substation in Topeka, Indiana. For more information, see Industrial Info's project reports on the Reynolds-to-Burr Oak and Burr Oak-to-Topeka lines.

NIPSO faced some difficulties over the summer when farmers in the area said that construction interfered with their crops and livestock, according to The South Bend Tribune. NIPSO used eminent domain to buy rights to a 200-foot-wide easement from landowners, many of whom said it was too close to their properties. NIPSO says the project will reduce costs for consumers and bring more renewable energy to the area.

Illinois is hosting two transmission projects that are segments of larger, separate systems: MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company's (Des Moines, Iowa) 38-mile, $76 million Rock Island-to-Knox County line, which covers three substations and is part of the Spoon River Transmission Line Project; and Ameren Corporation's (NYSE:AEE) (St. Louis, Missouri) 60-mile, $50 million Meredosia-to-Pawnee line, which is part of the Illinois River Transmission Project. MidAmerican is a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Incorporated (NYSE:BRK.A) (Omaha, Nebraska). For more information, see Industrial Info's project reports on the Rock Island-to-Knox County and Meredosia-to-Pawnee lines.

Michigan State University's East Lansing Campus is home to a unique renewables-based T&D project: a $25 million solar array addition for a carport system. The 13.5-MW project will feature 40,000 photovoltaic panels spanning five parking lots. University officials say this will be the largest solar array in the state and will save the university $10 million over 25 years. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

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