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Ranchers encouraged by energy bill
GILLETTE - Ranchers who hope wind generation could provide an income boost say the recently passed energy bill could help. The bill would make it easier for energy generators - including those generating wind power - to access power lines and transmit their energy to customers. That's critical in Wyoming, where most of the state's transmission lines already are carrying as much power as they can handle. Steve Waddington, executive director of the Wyoming Infrastructure Authority, said the energy bill would make it easier for Wyoming and its partners - Utah, Nevada and California - to build the Frontier Line, a major power transmission corridor that would connect Wyoming's resources to consumers in the West. "If you had to hang all of the cost of the Frontier Line on the generation developers, it will never happen," Waddington said. "We're talking about a multi-billion-dollar enterprise here." The bill still needs President Bush's signature. After that, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission would have to formulate a plan to spread the cost of new transmission lines among those who benefit from the lines. Copyright © The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises. |