|
|
|
|
BACKGROUND:
Past and expected growth in Buncombe County and the surrounding area has prompted the need for a regional transmission system enhancement. To ensure the continued reliability of the transmission system that serves this area, Progress Energy Carolinas plans to invest about $25 million to convert an existing 115-kilovolt (kV) electric transmission line to 230 kV and add a new transmission line between the company’s Asheville Plant at Skyland and the Enka substation at 414 Sardis Road.
Progress Energy’s continuous assessment of electric system needs indicates that by 2010, under certain circumstances, there will be reliability issues on the electric transmission system that serves the area. Such an occurrence would violate federal reliability standards, which were revised and strengthened in response to the Northeast blackout of 2003. In order to ensure continued compliance with federal standards, the company has planned a two-phase project.
The project includes upgrading the existing Asheville-Enka transmission line, currently operating at 115 kV, to 230 kV. That portion of the project, scheduled to be in service by December 2010, will not require additional easements from property owners.
The second phase of the project includes construction of a new 10-mile 115-kV transmission line between the plant and the Enka 230-kV substation. That portion of the project is scheduled to be in service in late 2012 and will require acquisiont of easements from some property owners.
The new transmission line will be built on 100-foot-wide property easements. Progress Energy evaluated routing options between the plant and substation to determine the route that poses the least overall impact (to property owners, the environment, cultural and natural resources, etc.). The route was chosen after an evaluation process that included significant input from property owners, local governments, state and federal resource and regulatory agencies and other interested parties.
The new line, like the existing line, crosses several environmentally sensitive areas, including the French Broad River, the Pisgah National Forest, the Blue Ridge Parkway and a portion of Biltmore Company property. Portions of the new line will be closer to some existing homes and other structures than the current transmission line.
|
|
|
|
WHY THE PROJECT IS NEEDED:
-
The upgraded line and the new line and related facilities are needed to ensure that the electric system that serves the region remains reliable and continues to meet federal standards for reliability. Those standards were revised and strengthened after the major Northeast blackout of August 2003.
-
The new facilities will help enhance the bulk power import capability into Progress Energy Carolinas Western Region. Such capability is a critical part of ensuring a reliable electricity supply to the households and businesses that depend on us.
-
Without the transmission system upgrades, this area could be exposed to extended power outages in the near future, potentially creating the types of electric system concerns that have plagued other parts of the country in recent years.
-
Electricity is far too important for our customers to risk service interruptions or problems with power quality due to inadequate facilities. PEC and the N.C. Utilities Commission have an obligation to ensure that the electric system is maintained and upgraded appropriately.
-
The electric system must keep pace with growth to ensure a continuous, reliable flow of electricity to homes and businesses. Progress Energy is pursuing a balanced strategy for meeting the region’s growing energy needs. The balance includes expanded energy-efficiency programs and demand-side management, investments in renewable and alternative energy technologies and state-of-the-art plants when needed. In addition to expanding load-management technologies, PEC must enhance the transmission and distribution systems to help ensure reliability of electricity to homes and businesses in the region. This project is one of several major transmission system upgrades under way or planned over the next several years to benefit PEC’s customers.
|
|
|
|
SCHEDULE:
The project includes two main components: upgrading of the existing 115-kV line to 230 kV and siting and construction of a new 115-kV transmission line. Work on the upgrade is scheduled to begin this year and continue through 2009 and much of 2010, with the upgraded line put in service by December 2010.
Surveying and mapping of the selected route and initial right-of-way acquisition for the new line is scheduled to begin in 2009. Clearing is scheduled to begin in 2011, followed by construction of the line. The project is expected to be in service by December 2012.
The schedule and selected route are based on the best available current information. Some components of large-scale projects can change based on changes in growth and usage projections and other criteria.
|
|
|
|
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION:
PEC believes public participation is critical to the success of the project. Among other communication initiatives, the company held a public information meeting in the area on Nov. 18, 2008. The purpose of the meeting was to provide information on the scope and schedule of the project and to gather pertinent information from property owners and others on property characteristics and other considerations. Participants were asked to rate a number of routing options based on the assessment criteria most important to them.
After receiving significant input from property owners, local governments, state and federal resource and regulatory agencies and other interested parties, a route was selected. The route represents the best overall choice that minimizes impacts on property owners, the environment, cultural and natural resources and other considerations. Progress Energy has notified area residents whose property is affected by the selected route.
|
|
|
|
LAND ACQUISITION:
Progress Energy will need to acquire easements for the new transmission line from property owners. That portion of the project requires new rights of way 100 feet wide, plus rights to remove or cut back danger trees and install guy wires outside the right-of-way corridor. Right-of-way requirements in some areas might vary from the 100-foot width, depending on existing facilities or other co-location opportunities. (Danger trees are trees that could fall from outside the right of way into the line or easement, causing outages or safety concerns.)
|
|
|
|
PERMITS & REGULATORY APPROVALS:
The project crosses a number of environmentally sensitive areas and will require a number of permits and regulatory approvals. Given its voltage rating (less than 161 kV), the project is exempt from a formal filing with the N.C. Utilities Commission for a certificate of public convenience and necessity. However, PEC will follow its standard process for ensuring significant public involvement. The project also will require a number of environmental agency reviews and permitting and regulatory approvals (including erosion-control plans, construction storm-water permits, etc.), including approval from the National Park Service for the crossing of the Blue Ridge Parkway, and from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service for crossing Pisgah National Forest.
|
|
|
|
OVERHEAD VERSUS UNDERGROUND:
Progress Energy Carolinas investigated the possibility of putting the line underground. The reliability of underground transmission lines is a major question across the United States, as relatively few have been constructed. A fault in a buried line, caused by a manufacturing defect, an accidental dig-in or even geologic conditions, would take much longer to locate and repair than a similar fault in an overhead line. Other adverse factors regarding underground transmission lines are the effects they can have on wetlands and soil erosion and the decreased electrical capacity they can carry. Buried transmission lines can be much more disturbing of sensitive areas than overhead lines. Burying lines does not preclude the need to remove trees, and construction impacts would be considerable (with heavy construction equipment, blasting and the need to build access roads and other facilities). Mountainous terrain poses additional environmental challenges for underground lines.
|
|
|
|
ROUTE MAP
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
348 kb