SOO Green project working on lining up work sites

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

When it was announced several years ago, the multi-billion-dollar plan to bury electrical transmission lines in conduit along 349 miles of railroad right of way from Mason City and the wind farms of north Iowa to eastern Illinois sounded to some people like a pipe dream — pun intended.

But now the companies behind the SOO Green HVDC (high voltage DC current) Link Project are actively meeting with landowners and organizations to line up the access and staging areas necessary to make the high-energy transmission line a reality.

Case in point, SOO Green would like to lease part of the vacant Oliver Development Park near downtown Charles City as a laydown area to stage materials and equipment for the project, and has tentatively offered $50,000 to $75,000 to the Charles City Area Development Corp. for a three-year agreement.

The response of the CCADC at its monthly meeting last week: Let’s talk.

The SOO Green HVDC Link Project has also now formally applied for franchise licenses to build and operate the transmission line through the eight Iowa counties it will cross on its way from Mason City to Illinois — Cerro Gordo, Floyd, Chickasaw, Winneshiek, Allamakee, Clayton, Dubuque and Jackson counties.

The petitions, along with maps and other information specific to each county, were filed with the Iowa Utilities Board on Sept. 24.

The Floyd County petition says the line through the county will consist of 19.71 miles, not including incorporated areas in Charles City, Nora Springs and Rudd, where separate franchise agreements will be needed.

“Construction of this proposed line is proposed to commence by Jan, 1, 2022,” the Floyd County petition states. The other seven county petitions use the same date.

At the Area Development Corp. meeting last week, Executive Director Tim Fox said the SOO Green project has offered $5,000 per acre to use 10 to 15 acres of the Oliver Development Park.

The project will determine how many acres it will need after surveying the site, which Fox said he gave the project permission to do.

“They’ll get started in September or October 2021, which means we’ll tie it up until 2024,” Fox said.

Some CCADC members were concerned they might lose out on a potential developer wanting to purchase the land during that time period, but in response to a question, Fox acknowledged that the land has sat empty since the Area Development Corp. took it over in 2005.

The land for more than 90 years had been the location of the Hart-Parr then the White/Oliver Farm Equipment and Tractor Factory, which had closed in 1993. It was most recently used by Allied Products Corp., before being taken over by the CCADC.

CCADC board member Randy Heitz said, “And how many billion dollar project is it?” referring to the SOO Green project. “I mean, they should be able to dig deeper than that,” referring to the lease fee offered.

CCADC board member Ron Litterer said that since the land had been sitting empty for 15 years, it might be worth it to take the chance that no one would want to buy it for three more years.

“If maybe we can shoot for a little higher fees, and see what happens, I guess I would think that would be a reasonable approach,” Litterer said.

Board member Doug Kamm said his experience with other laydown sites is the project will probably clean up the site, leaving it in better condition than it is now.

“Doug’s right. They are going to remove the trees and the scrub,” Fox said.

CCADC board member Paul Rottinghaus said the fact that a large part of the lot is concrete is an advantage.

“There’s no alternatives that are concrete,” he said. “I guess I would say, that’s a nice offer, but … it should be worth another 30-40% or something like that, and maybe you could work them up a bit.”

The board agreed that Fox would go back to SOO Green to see if the project is willing to pay more, then bring the answer back to the board.

Rottinghaus said, “Any activity there is good. It shows that it’s a usable property. I think the fact that somebody could be using it at all might be an improvement.”

The SOO Green HVDC Link Project application to the Iowa Utilities Board requests franchises for the construction of a new underground 525-kilovolt DC current electric transmission line through the eight counties, plus franchises for two 363-kV lines to connect a DC current converter station to a new 345-kV switchyard in Cerro Gordo County.

The project represents a direct capital investment of more than $446 million in Iowa and will result in more than 3,200 jobs, directly and indirectly, and more than $500 million in additional economic output during the construction phase, the application said. The total project cost has been estimated at more than $2 billion.

The application also estimates the SOO Green project will stimulate development of an additional 4,200 megawatts of power generation, resulting in more than 6,000 jobs in Iowa from new wind and solar energy projects and component manufacturing, more than $400 million in additional wages and benefits, and more than $1 billion in additional economic output.

Being underground reduces the chances of weather-caused disruptions, the application says, and also reduces the environmental impact and aesthetic concerns that accompany above-ground high-voltage transmission lines.

“Installed underground, SOO Green’s transmission line will be located in a secure, monitored, operating railroad (right of way), limiting access and significantly reducing the risk of accidental contact. These HVDC cables are self-contained and safe for humans, animals and the environment,” it said.

The project will be paid for entirely by the companies that use its transmission services, and “as a result, there is no cost recovery from ratepayers within Iowa,” the application said.