Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Each of these orders linked the PUCT, ERCOT, and transmission service providers in the
development of the CREZ.
To build the transmission lines, the companies which were bidding to build the new
transmission lines - the transmission service providers (TSPs) - studied the area, defined
diverse routes for specific lines, identified owners of land that would need to be consulted,
and held public consultations and informational meetings. The companies filed a
Certificate of Convenience and Necessity (CCN) with the PUCT to ensure cost recovery.
Assuming the information was acceptable, the PUCT would then approve the line and the
level of investment that could be recovered through increases in electricity prices, or “cost
recovery.”
For transmission-line planning and siting, the TSPs would gather data from multiple
constituents, including the counties, municipalities, landowners, Texas Department of Fish
and Wildlife, the Texas Historical Commission, and other relevant parties. Data would
include, for example, environmental information, irrigation pivot information, airport
locations,communicationtowers,parkandrecreationalareas,andinformationonhistorical
sites. From this information, the TSP would propose several potential routes, identify and
notify landowners along the different transmission-line alternative routes through mailings
and newspaper announcements, and hold a series of public meetings in the project areas.
These data and a series of meetings form the basis for the CCN application to the PUCT.
Once the project is approved by the PUCT, the TSP begins discussions with landowners on
acquiring a right of way, crews survey the properties, and detailed engineering studies are
performed. Finally, construction crews build towers and string power lines, and the line is
put into service. The entire process averages five years (Cross Texas Transmission 2009 ) .
While some complain that the multiple high-voltage 345 kV lines have led to
“transmission fatigue,” or communities becoming exhausted by the multiple ongoing
efforts to site transmission lines, the additional transmission capacity built to support
wind power development has also supported the development of shale gas resources in
central Texas. The directional drilling and hydraulic fracturing technologies needed to
develop shale gas require an energy infrastructure which did not exist before the CREZ
development. While many supporters of wind power might not have chosen to promote
development of additional hydrocarbons, Texas' focus on energy resource development
remains a strong force among multiple stakeholders.
The CREZ transmission lines have helped wind power to serve electricity demand
in populated areas of the state and have inadvertently and subsequently supported the
development of the shale gas industry. The addition of significant wind power into the
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