ABOVE: ITC Engineer Fairman Campbell, left, speaks to attendees Dennis Koziolek and Darwin Roberts Monday evening at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Fairmont about the PowerOn Midwest plan to bring more power along the length of southern Minnesota.

FAIRMONT – PowerOn’s plans for the Martin County area booted up Monday with an informational open house at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Fairmont.

This is the first meeting for the cooperative, made up of Great River Energy, ITC Midwest, Xcel Energy and Otter Tail Power Company. It seeks to develop a series of projects along the eastern South Dakota and southern Minnesota border. Great River Energy Supervising Manager of Communications Lori Buffington said this project comes as power needs increase.

“If you think about the way we generate electricity is changing, the way we use electricity is changing and the amount of electricity that we use is increasing significantly,” she said. “All of that is driving a need for transmission expansion.”

Where Martin County is concerned, new power lines will run through as part of a connection between a Lakefield Junction Substation in Jackson County and a Pleasant Valley Substation in Mower County.

The project will use 765 kV lines, which Buffington said were chosen for a variety of benefits.

“Namely, reliability,” she said. “It’ll deliver on our commitment to customers and electric cooperative members, that electricity is delivered where and when it’s needed, regardless of the weather, the electric generation source or the demand. It’ll help us connect more low-cost renewable energy to the grid.”

As this was the first meeting, they are very early in the process. They don’t know where the lines will go yet, and will need to submit certificate of need and route permit applications before the project can move forward. Each process will require multiple public participation opportunities regarding environmental reports and impact concerns, and take around a year a piece to be considered.

“There will be a lot more opportunities in the future for the community to get involved and provide feedback,” Buffington said. “Right now, we have our initial stakeholder and public engagement, talking to county officials and community members.”

The current plan is for the lines to be more oriented toward field, section and property lines, utility corridors and roads. A large list was posted of area features the project is looking to be aware of, including agriculture, hospitals, forests, planned development, protected lands, recreational facilities, residences, schools/daycares and any sensitive species.

While it is not known where the wires will go yet, several Geographic Information System (GIS) stations were set up for attendees to look over their property while speaking with project experts.

If both applications pass with public feedback periods held, easement acquisition of land needed for the project is projected to start around 2027, along with design and further environmental surveys and permitting. Construction is scheduled to start in 2030, with in-service operations commencing gradually between 2032 and 2034.

“This will be all brand new construction, so it’s not replacing any existing infrastructure,” PowerOn Midwest Engineer Adam Roberts said. “So that’s just one thing to point out. They’ll come in with crews who will put in access roads. They’ll bring in drill rigs to drill foundations, structure crews to erect the structures, and then

they’ll probably install the wires with a mixture of on the ground and helicopters.”