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GLENCOE - The McLeod County Chronicle

GLENCOE - The McLeod County Chronicle

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Page 6 HORIZON <strong>McLeod</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Chronicle</strong>, March 20, 2013Transmission line provides reliabilityOnce newsubstation iscompleted, newtransmission linewill be ready togo on line.By Rich GlennieEditor<strong>The</strong> Glencoe Light & Power Commissionis finalizing a “punchlist” of items with its new $5.5million transmission line and substationproject that will complete a long, and attimes, drawn-out process.Dave Meyer, Glencoe Light Plant manager,said the process started long beforehe arrived, but the permitting process wasbegun in 2011 to get the transmission linebuilt from Glencoe east to Diamond Avenue,where a new substation was constructed.In between are 75 metal power polesalong with 13 larger poles with concretebases at locations where the line crisscrossesHighway 212.<strong>The</strong> new transmission line, which goesfrom the Armstrong Avenue substationsouth to Highway 212, across ChandlerAvenue on the north side of Highway 212and then across the highway to the southside near Bump’s Restaurant. From thereit runs parallel along Highway 212 east towhere it recrosses the highway to thenorth side. It then follows Diamond Avenuenorth to the new substation.Meyer said the substation will be commissionedsoon. <strong>The</strong> line and substationwill be run through all its functions andthen be certified.Eventually, the line will tie into aplanned Xcel transmission line that comeswest from Waconia. That Xcel line willservice Plato residents.Meyer said Glencoe’s new transmissionwill allow customers to have a more reliablesource of energy coming from theeast. That supplements the feed of energyfrom the west.Mayer said it completes a “loop” thathas long been needed for the Glencoeplant.<strong>The</strong> Glencoe Light & Power Commission has beenplanning to replace its old, often unreliable, easterntransmission line into Glencoe, for many years beforeactually approving the go-ahead for the $5.5 millionproject last year. Most of the poles were installed“Glencoe customers will have a real reliableelectrical system,” Meyer said. Notonly will it increase reliability, but Meyersaid it also will keep electrical rates “asstable as we can.”Building a transmission line is a “goodreturn on the investment,” Meyer said,and it helps offset some costs of energy inthe future.But there is another issue that concernsMeyer, and that is the recent action by the<strong>McLeod</strong> <strong>County</strong> Board to raise tip fees atthe Spruce Ridge Landfill near Biscay.<strong>The</strong> landfill supplies methane gas thatpowers generators that supply electricityto Glencoe customers.<strong>The</strong> fear is the tip fee increase will cutdown the amount of garbage coming tothe landfill, thus reducing the amount ofmethane produced in the future.Meyer said Spruce Ridge will continueto produce the necessary methane to runthe generators, but that gas productioncould be affected down the road if lessgarbage is brought to the landfill.Another factor is the recent legislativeeffort to enforce an old state statute thatrequires all waste generated in the sevencountymetro area to be hauled to an incineratorat Elk River. <strong>The</strong> statute waspassed in the 1970s, but has been dormantfor many years.Since a healthy part of Spruce RidgeLandfill’s garbage comes from the westmetro area, enforcing the state statutecould have a major effect on the Biscayfacility. It also could negatively impact<strong>Chronicle</strong> photo by Rich Glennielast fall and the lines strung. At the same time workwas ongoing at the new substation at Diamond Avenue,above. <strong>The</strong> substation work is not yet complete,but the transmission line has been energized.the methane gas-to-electricity project.Meyer said the situation is being monitoredat the Legislature, and Glencoealong with Waste Management, owner ofthe Spruce Ridge Landfill, have received“excellent support” from state and cityelected officials as well as the <strong>McLeod</strong><strong>County</strong> Board.Meyer said the methane gas project isthe ideal “renewable resource,” somethingthat is required by utility companies. <strong>The</strong>Glencoe Light Plant, as well as other utilitiesare required to produce 25 percent ofits energy from renewable resources by2025.Meyer said Glencoe Light & Power alreadysurpassed that with its methane gasto-electricityproject.as low as$15/mo.Need a Web site that’s easyto maintain and affordable?We have theANSWER!Our Web site Software includes:– Galleries – Articles – Ad Management– Staff Page – Store Locations– Glossaries– Password Protected Pages– E-Mail Accounts – PLUS MORE!For more information go towww.McPubDesigns.comOr call us TODAY at 320-864-5518for a DEMONSTRATION of our Software!Happy Hour InnRestaurant & BarEnjoy home cooked: •Breakfast •Lunch Specials•Dinner Specials •Full Salad BarAcross from the courthouse, Glencoe 320-864-4412

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