KTVN Channel 2 - Reno Tahoe News Weather, Video - MT, Wyo transmission lines draw wind developers
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Associated Press - December 18, 2009 7:35 AM ET
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) - A Canadian energy company proposing a pair of major transmission projects in Montana and Wyoming says it is getting strong interest from wind developers interested in hooking up to the power lines.
The lines from Calgary-based TransCanada would cost about $3 billion apiece and connect new power sources in the Rockies with customers in the fast-growing Southwest. They would carry a combined 6,000 megawatts of electricity - enough to power roughly 6 million homes - into Nevada's Eldorado Valley.
John Dunn is project manager for the Chinhook and Zephyr transmission projects. He says the company has begun evaluating offers it received from potential customers during a two-month bidding process that ended Wednesday.
More than 50 potential customers expressed interest, but Dunn won't say how many submitted bids.
TransCanada will decide whether to move ahead on the projects by early March.
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