AltaLink has suspended construction of its Southwest 240 kV project in sensitive bird nesting areas. The project is being built to connect Pincher Creek and Lethbridge and allow 1,000 MW of wind-generated electricity onto the grid in Alberta, Canada.
‘We want to ensure the environmental impacts of our construction activities are carefully identified and managed,’ says Steve Hodgkinson, AltaLink's vice president of corporate development. ‘It's important that our work does not impact nesting season, so we're making the decision to suspend construction in native grassland areas until later in the summer.’
The transmission line is largely completed between the new Goose Lake substation north of Pincher Creek and the Peigan substation on the Piikani First Nation. Transmission towers have been erected in many locations between the Peigan and North Lethbridge substations, but the conductor has not yet been strung on the towers.
Construction will continue in substations and most cultivated areas unaffected by nesting. The line is expected to be energized in October.
SOURCE: AltaLink
