OCTOBER 23, 2024 |
Photo – Moving one transformer from Laramie to substation via Highway 30 – Courtesy WYDOT District 1
Representatives of PacifiCorp say the various electrical transmission line projects in Carbon County are nearly complete.
During the county commissioners meeting in Hanna on October 15th, PacificCorp Regional Business Manager Ron Wild said work on the area’s transmission line projects moved rapidly over the summer. Wild specifically thanked County Road and Bridge Superintendent Kandis Fritz for her assistance in getting the seven 900,000-pound electrical transformers from Laramie to the Aeolus Substation, located roughly 20 miles northeast of Medicine Bow.
Wild said the Gateway South transmission line is finished being built and just about ready to begin carrying electricity. Gateway South is a 416-mile-long high voltage line running from the wind turbines near Medicine Bow to Utah. Roughly 108 miles of the line cuts through Carbon County.
Wild said PacifiCorp will continue working with the Bureau of Land Management and private property owners to restore the land around the Gateway South transmission towers to its original, preconstruction, condition.
Wild reported that work to rebuild the 4.1 miles of power line connecting the Freezeout Substation to the Aeolus Substation is finished.
The Freezeout Substation transports electricity from the Boswell Springs Wind Farm in Albany County.
Wild said the Gateway West D1 project is nearly completed. Part of the larger Gateway West Transmission Line project, the D1 section is a 230-kilovolt transmission line running approximately 59 miles between the Windstar Substation near Glenrock and the Aeolus Substation here in Carbon County. The PacifiCorp regional manager said the newly constructed transmission lines on either side of Highway 487 should be powered on by next month.
Wild said reclamation work on the Gateway West D1 project will continue until winter and then pick back up again in the spring.
Returning to the Aeolus Substation, Wild reported that three of the seven large transformers are up and running. The remaining four are expected to begin operating next month.
Wild said he is working to ensure that Carbon County receives its share of the use tax on the electrical equipment. In Wyoming, companies must pay use tax on tangible personal property, such as large pieces of equipment, purchased from out of state and installed in Wyoming. Commission Chairwoman Sue Jones thanked Wild for his diligence and blamed state law for adding unnecessary complications to collecting taxes.
Wild said PacifiCorp has ordered an additional three spare transformers for the Aeolus Substation. The regional business manager said that every contractor working on the transmission line projects, as well as PacifiCorp itself, is paying the required taxes.
