$3B in Transmission Substation and Line Projects Proposed in Pacific Northwest

The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) has identified 13 new transmission substation and line projects designed to reinforce the Pacific Northwest’s electric grid. If constructed, these projects would accommodate regional load growth and enable the BPA to add thousands of megawatts of new wind and solar generation, and battery storage to the federal grid. Combined, the projects are estimated to cost approximately $3 billion. The projects would add to a list of other projects the BPA announced in July 2023, bringing the total to more than 20 with an estimated cost of approximately $5 billion.

“BPA continues to answer the call to meet the region’s transmission needs driven by electrification, clean energy goals, and growing energy demand,” John Hairston, administrator and CEO of the BPA, said in a statement. “Consistent, steady energy infrastructure investments such as these will help the region maintain reliability and a strong economy fueled by clean energy. This work would not be possible without the $10 billion increase in Treasury borrowing authority championed by the Northwest Congressional delegation.”

Congress included the $10 billion increase Hairston mentioned in the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, raising the BPA’s borrowing authority with the U.S. Treasury to $17.7 billion. The BPA said borrowing authority works like a revolving line of credit and is the agency’s primary source of debt financing for capital investments, including transmission.

The BPA’s Role

The BPA is a Federal Power Marketing Administration headquartered in Portland, Oregon. It serves a 300,000 square mile area that includes Oregon, Washington, Idaho, western Montana, and parts of northern California, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming. The BPA markets electric power, provides transmission, and supports development of energy conservation throughout the region. Specifically, it markets the electric power produced from 31 Federal hydroelectric projects operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation. Together, the 31 Federal hydro projects produce a total of about 8,593 MW in an average water year. The BPA also acquires non-Federal power, including the power from one nuclear power plant—the Columbia Generating Station—to meet the needs of its customer utilities.

The BPA maintains and operates more than 15,000 circuit miles of transmission lines and associated facilities over which this electric power is delivered. Its system is a substantial majority of the Northwest’s high-voltage electric grid. It is the BPA’s responsibility to plan for and fund the development, operations, and maintenance of this system, while also preserving and enhancing physical security, cybersecurity, and overall system resilience.

The BPA is fully self-financed, issues bonds directly to the U.S. Treasury, and receives no direct annual appropriations for operations. Its power rates and transmission rates are set to recover its costs. Meanwhile, the BPA also funds the protection, mitigation, and enhancement of fish and wildlife affected by the development and operation of the hydropower system as part of its efforts to preserve and balance the economic and environmental benefits of the Federal Columbia River Power System.

The Proposed Projects

The 13 new transmission projects announced on Oct. 15 emerged from the BPA’s Transmission Service Request Study and Expansion Process 2023 cluster study. Each project must undergo preliminary engineering and environmental review to inform a final decision to construct. The proposed projects include:

• Grand Coulee-Columbia-Schultz 500 kV. This proposed project would rebuild the existing Grand Coulee-Olympia 287-kV circuit to 500 kV. To loop into Columbia, the project would also build a new Columbia 500-kV substation yard, with a 500/230-kV transformer bank. This section of the line would terminate at Schultz Substation.
• Schultz-Olympia 500 kV. This proposed project would rebuild the Schultz-Olympia portion of the Coulee-Olympia 287 kV to 500 kV. The project would also include an expansion of an Olympia 500-kV yard, a new 500/230-kV transformer bank, and three new 500-kV shunt capacitors.
• Central Oregon 500 kV Dynamic Reactive Upgrades. This proposed project would install reactive support (STATCOM) for Central Oregon at Bonanza 500 kV and at Captain Jack 500 kV.
• RATS: Reno-Alturas Reactive Addition. This proposed project would install reactive support (STATCOM) at Warner 115 kV and Hilltop 230 kV.
• North of Marion Upgrade #1. This proposed project would build on the Big Eddy-Chemawa project, constructing a new 500-kV yard at Chemawa, including a new 500/230-kV transformer bank. The project would also rebuild the Pearl-Chemawa section of Big Eddy-Chemawa from 230 kV to 500 kV. Additionally, the project would also rebuild the Chemawa-Santiam #1 from 230 kV to 500 kV.
• North of Marion Upgrade #2. This proposed project would rebuild Pearl-Marion #1 500 kV and replace the 2.5-inch expanded conductor, and would rebuild the Oregon City-Chemawa 115-kV river crossing. The project would also add a second 230/115-kV transformer bank at Chemawa Substation.
• North of Pearl. This proposed project would upgrade transmission capacity in the Portland sub-grid North of Pearl area by reconductoring the existing Pearl-Keeler #1 500-kV line and leveraging an existing corridor to add a second 500-kV line between Pearl and Keeler. The existing Pearl-Sherwood #1 and #2 230-kV lines would be relocated/rebuilt to accommodate Pearl-Keeler #2 500-kV line. The existing section of Keeler-Oregon City #2 115 kV between Sherwood and Oregon City would be repurposed as the new Keeler-Sherwood (PGE) 115-kV line, terminating into Sherwood.
• Big Eddy-Quenett Creek Upgrade. This proposed project would upgrade the Hood River sub-grid, rebuilding the Big Eddy-Quenett Creek 230 kV to resolve the river crossing impairment.
• Ostrander-Pearl #1 Upgrade. This proposed project would upgrade the Ostrander-Pearl #1 500-kV line and replace the existing 2.5-inch expanded conductor.
• Big Eddy-The Dalles Rebuild. This proposed project is currently under study with the Northern Wasco County People’s Utility District to rebuild a 115-kV line the BPA currently leases.
• Lower Columbia to Nevada-Oregon Border (NOB).
  • Lower Columbia to Bonanza. This proposed project would build a new 500-kV transmission line between a substation in the Lower Columbia area and the planned Bonanza Substation in Central Oregon. It may include additional connections to 500-kV substations near the line route as well as new 500-kV series capacitors.
  • Bonanza to NOB. This proposed project would build a new 500-kV transmission line from Bonanza Substation toward the Nevada-Oregon border. The project would also include new 500-kV series capacitors.
  • Nevada-Oregon Border Substation. This proposed project would build a new 500-kV substation at the Nevada-Oregon border.

Improved Reliability Among the Benefits of Projects

“With historic levels of high demand growth projected across the region in the years to come, the 13 transmission projects being announced today by BPA represent a big step forward on system capacity and reliability. The result should be a lasting benefit to BPA’s customers and to the energy consumers of the Pacific Northwest more generally,” said Department of Energy Infrastructure Under Secretary David Crane.

“These projects advance our efforts to provide reliable service to our customers and keep pace with requests for transmission service,” said Jeff Cook, the BPA’s vice president of Transmission Service Planning and Asset Management. “We expect these projects will enable transmission service for network and point-to-point needs yet to be studied.”

—Aaron Larson is POWER’s executive editor (@POWERmagazine).