Siting Study - Boardman to Hemingway Transmission Line Project

Siting Study
Boardman to Hemingway Transmission Line Project
1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background and Objectives
This document presents the results of the transmission line siting conducted by Idaho Power Company for
the proposed Boardman to Hemingway Transmission Line Project (B2H Project or Project). Idaho Power
partnered with communities from northeast Oregon to southwest Idaho to create a Community Advisory
Process (CAP) that was responsible for identifying proposed and alternative routes for the B2H Project.
The overall objectives for siting the Project were to address community concerns while balancing
regulatory requirements, construction difficulty, and overall costs. Data and methods used to analyze the
49 routes and/or route segments that were developed through the CAP and the results of the analysis are
described in this document.
1.2 Project Overview
Idaho Power is proposing to construct, operate, and maintain a new, approximately 300-mile-long, singlecircuit
electric transmission line between northeast Oregon and southwest Idaho known as the Boardman
to Hemingway Transmission Line Project. The overhead, 500 kilovolt (kV) transmission line will carry
energy bi-directionally between a Portland General Electric (PGE) planned switching yard (Grassland
Substation) adjacent to the Boardman Generating Plant, near the city of Boardman in Morrow County,
Oregon, and the existing Idaho Power Hemingway Substation, located in Owyhee County, Idaho. The
proposed transmission line will connect with other transmission lines at these substations to convey
electricity on a regional scale and serve native loads. Federal, state, and private lands in five counties in
Oregon and one in Idaho will be utilized to construct the proposed transmission line. Table 1.2-1
describes land ownership by county and major land managing agency and private owners.
Table 1.2-1.
Route Mileage Summary by Land Manager/Owner
Segment
County
Miles
National Forest
System
Bureau of
Reclamation
BLM Public
Lands
Department of
Defense
State and
Municipal
Private
Miles % Miles % Miles % Miles % Miles % Miles %
1 Morrow 36.2 8.1 22.4 28.1 77.6
2 Umatilla 60.9 60.9 100
3 Union 40.2 6.3 15.7 0.7 1.7 0.1 0.2 33.1 82.3
4 Baker 68.2 16.0 23.5 3.0 4.4 49.2 72.1
5 Malheur 70.7 0.5 0.7 46.8 66.2 23.4 33.1
6 Owyhee 23.5 17.3 73.6 3.5 14.9 2.7 11.5
Totals 299.7 6.3 2.1 0.5 0.2 80.8 27.0 8.1 2.7 6.6 2.2 197.4 65.9
The B2H Project is proposed for the following reasons:
1. To allow Idaho Power to meet its obligations to serve its retail customers located in the states of Idaho
and Oregon.
August 2010 1-1